View Rule

The Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI), Traditional Council of St. George Island (TCSGI), and the Aleut Marine Mammal Commission (AMMC) petitioned NMFS to revise regulations governing the subsistence use of northern fur seals in Alaska. The petitions include: revising the starting date of the hunting season to October 15 on St. Paul Island (Pribilof Islands); creating an annual hunting season on St. George Island (Pribilof Islands) from October 15 to May 31, similar to the hunting season on St. Paul Island; and creating an annual hunting season in the AMMC region (the western Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian and Shumagin Islands) from November 1 to April 30, with an upper take limit for the AMMC region of 100 non-breeding male fur seals. The purpose of this action is to respond to petitions from the AMMC, ACSPI, and TCSGI by further deregulating subsistence use of fur seals, thereby improving traditional Unangan food security and subsistence opportunities. In addition to the petitioned actions, NMFS has identified additional deregulation of the subsistence use of northern fur seals by reducing duplicative, confusing, or unnecessary language; removing outdated provisions; and aligning the regulatory structure among the areas that have historically relied on northern fur seals. Under the Fur Seal Act, all taking of northern fur seals is prohibited, including for subsistence use, unless authorized, and NMFS authorizes and manages the subsistence use of northern fur seals through regulations at 50 CFR 216.71-216.74. NMFS would revise these regulations consistent with NMFS’s delegated authority under 16 U.S.C. 1155(a). An Environmental Assessment is being prepared to evaluate the impacts of the proposed rulemaking and reasonable alternatives. Based on a similar rulemaking in 2019 this proposed rule is not expected to have a population level impact on the Eastern Pacific stock of northern fur seals. This rulemaking is expected to have beneficial economic impacts on the economies of the petitioners but is not likely to have significant adverse economic impacts on small businesses or entities operating in any of the regions identified in this rule.