More on today's whale hunt and the cost to us

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

 

FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE

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WHALES WIN THE DAY- AGAIN!

U.S. Coast Guard to taxpayers: " Drop dead "

 

Makah whalers gave up the hunt earlier this afternoon, with ODI and World

Whale Police vessels in hot pursuit. Of note, the US Coast Guard saw fit to

bring a full flotilla of vessels to act as hunting guides for the whalers,

hounding the protest vessels until the media showed up...

 

On this Memorial Day, many U.S. servicemen and their families scrape by with

embarassingly low pay- some are forced to use food stamps to survive- but

the Coast Guard apparently has enough money for the Makah whalers. It costs

an average of $11,550 taxpayer dollars per hour for the Coast Guard to

escort the Makah whale killers through a National Marine Sanctuary. U.S.

Citizens Against Whaling has just sent us an updated total estimated cost of

this hunt (cumulative) to date- $4,415,256. And that's just what we know

about!

 

Read the following AP article to see why the Coast Guard is soon going to

have a LOT of questions to answer. And be SURE to share this information

with your congressional representatives! Now is the time! Visit

www.stopwhalekill.org for further news and contact info

*****

 

 

 

COSTLY FUEL FORCES COAST GUARD CUTS

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

MAY 29, 03:56 EDT

 

By MARY LEE GRANT

Associated Press Writer

 

SEABROOK, Texas (AP) - Drunken boaters speeding across waterways. Damaged

buoys that leave dangerous channels unmarked. Drug smugglers moving unseen

along deserted stretches of coastline.

 

Those are possible scenarios because rising fuel costs have forced the Coast

Guard to cut back nearly every type of patrol but search-and-rescue missions

by about 25 percent along the Texas coast and into the Midwest, officials

said.

 

``I had no other recourse,'' said Rear Adm. Paul Pluta, whose Eighth Coast

Guard District covers 26 states and includes 1,200 miles of Gulf Coast and 1

0,300 miles of navigable rivers.

 

Oil prices have increased dramatically in recent months, reaching $34 a

barrel in March, almost $10 higher than in January. Prices were down to

about $28 a barrel this month, but the Coast Guard still needs more money to

make up for higher costs, Pluta said.

 

Covering the cost of the higher fuel prices for the Eighth District would

take between $700,000 and $1.3 million, Pluta said. It's just the latest

funding problem for a Coast Guard that's still using boats and planes dating

back to the Vietnam era and before, he said.

 

Congress is discussing the possibility of appropriating more money to make

up for the shortfall, but it could takes weeks, Pluta said.

 

The cutbacks will mean fewer patrols for boating safety violations, less

frequent maintenance of channel markers and less time spent enforcing

environmental regulations for fishing and shrimping boats, officials said.

 

The highest priority, Pluta said, will be placed on search and rescue

operations, which won't be cut back.

 

But Peter Davidson, director of the Corpus Christi Marina, said it's already

difficult to reach the Coast Guard in times of emergency.

 

``They will only come for what they consider to be a life or death

situation. That means if someone runs their mast into a bridge or an old man

runs aground, they just say to call a salvage company. They don't come to a

lot of situations that could result in serious injury or death,'' Davidson

said.

 

``The Coast Guard needs to be doing more, not less,'' Davidson said.

 

In Galveston, the marine safety unit has reduced offshore flights and

consolidated harbor patrols from three days a week to one, Lt. Marie Byrd

said. In general, Coast Guard units have stopped routine safety patrols, but

are responding to any reports of wrongdoing, Byrd said.

 

The effects stretch beyond the Texas coast.

 

``If the buoys aren't maintained, it could cause us problems,'' said Dave

Harms of Lake City, Minn., who boats on the upper Mississippi River. ``The

barges are having enough trouble with low waters.''

 

In some areas, other safety patrols and police organization will be able to

make up for the cutbacks. In New Orleans, Benton Brown, harbormaster for the

Southern Yacht Club, said his yacht club can rely on the sheriff's

department patrolling the northern half Lake Pontchartrain and local police

patrolling the southern half.

 

In the Pacific Northwest, Chief Warrant Officer Chris Haley said Sunday that

the shortage is theoretical - so far. But he said his 13th District was

fortunate that it had some financial cushion built in.

 

``They've told us to be prepared for operational cuts, and right now we're

looking at our budget to see where we can cut, what we can cut, and still

provide the best service to the public,'' Haley said.

 

The Coast Guard is feeling the pinch from funding shortages, and that could

mean more cutbacks in some nonessential services, Jack O'Dell, a Coast Guard

spokesman in Washington, said Sunday.

 

``People don't realize we have 34,000 people patrolling 144,000 miles of

shoreline,'' O'Dell said. ``If it's not a life-threatening situation, we

have to ask how much involvement from the Coast Guard there should be.''

*****

 

 

 

FROM OCEAN DEFENSE INTERNATIONAL

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

 

May 29, 2000

 

Ocean Defense International (ODI) returned again to port, and the whales

swim free, with another victory under their belts.

 

A 'recon' team spotted the whalers leaving the marina this morning and ODI

and World Whale Police rushed to the scene. Todays hunt brought a new team,

a new hunt area, and more Coast Guard boats (and taxpayer money). The

whaling team headed south today hunting west of Ozette island, being towed

at every opportunity, finally giving up around noon, being towed all the way

home.

 

Memorial Day, traditionally known for its heavy tourist and fishing boat

traffic, brought most of the Coast Guard vessels out to act as hunting

guides for the Makah.

They spent most of their time harassing activists - until the media showed

up. We spotted one whale all day spouting once right next to the canoe.

 

However, the Makah were too busy being towed to pursue it. The whaling team

ended their day around 12:30, empty-handed.

 

As the Washington State resident gray whales begin feeding in their home off

of the Olympic Peninsula, the Makah whaling team gears up once again to

attempt to kill one. The hunt is nearing its end, and we need YOUR help in

this final push to keep the waters free from slaughter.

 

Donations towards our all volunteer campaign will go directly into our fuel

tanks to keep ODI vessels running. We can't do this without your support!

Credit card donations can be safely made to us by calling (360) 963-2311

or sending donations to us at:

 

Ocean Defense Int'l

PO Box 123

Sekiu WA 98381

*****

 

 

 

LETTER OF THE WEEK

" The Empire Strikes Back "

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

 

Dear .....,

 

Thank you for your letter of 20 April to Mr. Llewelyn, the UK Commissioner

to the IWC concerning aboriginal subsistence whaling.

 

At its 49th Annual Meeting held in Monaco in 1997, the IWC allocated a

number of aboriginal subsistence quotas, including an annual allocation of

124 grey whales from the Eastern stock of the North Pacific. In agreeing to

the quota the UK made it clear that our agreement did not imply that we

accepted the validity of the case made on behalf of the Makah.

 

Yours Sincerely

Fiona Walters

Fisheries Division II B

*****

 

 

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

(What else?)

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

``If it's not a life-threatening situation, we have to ask how much

involvement from the Coast Guard there should be.''

 

Jack O'Dell, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman

 

 

 

 

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