[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1092]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 18, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 011094A]
Whaling: Report of Independent Scientific Peer Review of the
Catch Limit Algorithm of the International Whaling Commission's Revised
Management Procedure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; availability of report.
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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service has conducted an
independent scientific peer review of the International Whaling
Commission's Revised Management Procedure. This notice announces the
availability of the report of the peer review panel and solicits
comments on the report.
DATES: Comments should be received by NMFS by March 4, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the report of the peer review panel
and comments on that report should be directed to: Dr. Michael P.
Sissenwine, Senior Scientist for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steven Swartz (301) 713-2239.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its 1993 Annual Meeting, the Scientific
Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) unanimously
recommended that the Commission adopt a specific Revised Management
Procedure (RMP), including a method for calculating catch quotas for
commercial whaling--the ``catch limit algorithn'' (CLA). As part of the
U.S. evaluation of the proposed procedure, NMFS conducted an
independent scientific peer review of the RMP and its CLA during
October 1993.
This review assessed the performance and applicability of the RMP
as a management tool by considering the rationale used to develop the
RMP, the simulation trials conducted by the IWC's Scientific Committee,
and the structure and content of the various components of the RMP as a
means of addressing the stated goals of the IWC. In addition, the
review addressed the data requirements for a monitoring program to
assess the performance of the RMP, as was discussed by the IWC at its
1993 Annual Meeting in Kyoto, Japan. The review did not address any
other questions related to commercial whaling or whaling policy.
The Panel concluded that the Catch Limit Algorithm (CLA) appears to
be robust and conservative in meeting the stated goals of the
Commission in so far as the simulation trials that have been made to
date are concerned. In the Panel's opinion, the testing procedure used
is a valid one and the set of statistical standards used was adequate.
The Panel concluded that, provided the required protocol of
implementation trials and reviews is followed, the CLA could safely be
used for a short period of time, after which a thorough review would be
needed. However, the Panel also agreed that the range of simulation
trials that have been made to date is not yet sufficiently extensive,
in several regards, so as to gain its full confidence. It therefore
recommended that additional robustness trials be made as part of the
implementation process.
Based on the results of the peer review, the preliminary view of
the National Marine Fisheries Services is that it would seem reasonable
from a scientific point of view for the IWC to adopt the RMP in
principle, but that no quotas should be calculated until the additional
implementation trials called for by the peer review panel are
completed.
By this notice NMFS is announcing the availability of this
report and is seeking comments on it.
Dated: January 10, 1994.
C. Karnella,
Acting Program Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 94-1092 Filed 1-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-M
