Update on gray whale hunt

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===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list =====

 

FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE

--

 

ODI patrol boats are again on-scene this morning. And thanks to all of you

for your CONTINUING efforts in reminding the media to review the casual use

of " IWC approved " in their articles and reports!

 

Below, an article from today's Peninsula Daily News shows a slight

acknowledgement of this fact. We'll monitor other outlets, as well.

Remember: if you see an outlet using the phrase " IWC approved, " please let

them know that this hunt is NOT approved by the IWC!

 

Last item, an update from Ocean Defense International. Let's all do our

part- we need to work on setting them up with a healthy fuel fund! Please

continue to pass along this information to as many as possible!

*****

 

 

 

WHALING PROTESTORS AWAIT NEXT PHASE

Peninsula Daily News, April 19, 2000

 

By Mark Morey

and Austin Ramzy

 

SEKIU -- Anti-whaling activists vow to continue their efforts to block the

Makah whale hunt. " We're going to be out, regardless of the weather, making

sure the whales are safe,'' said Bainbridge Island resident Tami

Drake-Miller, who belongs to a group called Ocean Defense International.

" That's the only reason we're here.''

 

Two pleasure-craft protest boats, including the Ocean Defense's Avocet,

cruised through Neah Bay on Tuesday before returning to Sekiu. Protesters

say they expect more than 20 colleagues to crowd at least five rental cabins

by the end of the week.

 

Tribal member opposition

" We don't need the whale,'' said one of the hunt's most vocal opponents,

76-year-old Makah tribal member Binky Thompson. " We don't need to kill to

remember our tradition.'' Tribal officials assert that whaling represents a

crucial element of restoring cultural pride.

The Makah whaled for thousands of years before stopping the practice in 1920

because of the gray whales had been hunted commercially almost to

extinction. Whaling rights were granted to the tribe under a 1855 treaty.

 

Anti-whaling activists continue to call the current hunt illegal because the

International Whaling Commission never directly authorized the whale quota

granted to the Makah in 1997 by the United States. The international panel

approved an agreement between the federal government and a Russian tribe to

share the foreign native group's whale quota.

" I just don't think the media has presented our case that this hunt is

illegal,'' Drake-Miller said.

 

`Deeply disturbing'

A federal judge sided with the tribe in a lawsuit filed by Rep. Jack

Metcalf, R-Whidbey Island, against the hunt. Metcalf's challenge to that

ruling is still pending before an appeals court. Metcalf this week described

the tribe's move to hunt more gray whales as ``deeply disturbing.''

" This is the year 2000,'' Metcalf said in a written statement. " We have

turned a calendar page into a completely new era -- a time when these

majestic, highly intelligent creatures should not be brutally slaughtered.''

He said Monday that the Makah hunt is being supported by nations that want

to resume commercial whaling.

 

``That's a door we can't open,'' Ocean Defense member Erin O'Connell of

Seattle said Tuesday at Sekiu. ``It would destroy the world's whale

population.'' Makah tribal officials said in recent interviews that they

will abide by federal law not to sell the whale meat. They also doubt that

the small Makah tribe's hunts will lead to commercial whale hunting.

 

The gray whale population is estimated to be about 26,000.

Their northward migration by Cape Flattery continues until June, said Brian

Gorman, spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service. " May is sort of

the peak, but it's hard to know,'' Gorman said. " It's not predictable to the

day. It's not like the swallows in Capistrano. All 26,000 have to go up the

coast. So there are days that two, three, 400 go by any given point.''

*****

 

 

 

FROM OCEAN DEFENSE INTERNATIONAL

-----------------------------

 

Ocean Defense International has returned from another day of patrols. Today

was quiet, no sign of a hunt. We were visited by a few news helicopters and

coast guard chopper. The most action was the amazing World Whale Police's

vessel Tiger being towed to Port Angeles by the Coast Guard. We returned

back to port later in the day - satisfied that the hunt was not going to

happen.

 

However, yesterday was a different story - the hunt was in full swing, and

we were prepared to stop them. We deployed two of our four jet skis for

action, and monitored the action with our vessel, Avocet. The Coast Guard

was out in force - with many vessels ready to protect the Makah by any means

neccessary, including violence. The Makah didn't really attempt to take a

whale - and we returned with a full crew and all our vessels.

 

Tomorrow will bring a new day of hunting - and we need your help. Right now

we are in debt to Olson's Marina for hundreds of dollars worth of diesel and

gas. We need financial support to keep our vessels protecting whales. We

can't save whales without YOUR help! ODI is a grass roots organization with

no overhead. All funding will go to

directly running our vessels, feeding, and housing our crew.

We are a 100% volunteer organization and we are all putting our private

lives aside in order to be here to defend the whales. Last spring three of

our crew were arrested and two of our boats were seized by the Coast Guard.

 

Before we were forced out of the water we were able to prevent up to 15

whales from being killed. We can try again this year but only if we have the

funds to run our vessels.

 

Donations can be called in using a credit card, or sent directly to us at:

 

Ocean Defense Int'l c/o

Olson's Resort

444 Front St

Sekiu, WA 98381

360.963.2311

*****

 

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