Update on the Washington State whale hunt

[Guest guest]

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

 

FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE

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Goodness! We leave for a couple of weeks, and what happens but two of the

BIGGEST developments during this shameful hunt!

 

The first item details a legal action filed by Sea Shepherd and Ocean

Defense International: this action has some real potential, and we'll keep

you posted on developments. It certainly has left the media scratching its

collective head, as they aren't even sure who to interview- the Seattle PI

called up Brian Gorman of NMFS for comment, even though his agency has

nothing to do with it! Ah, the wonders of a newspaper strike.

 

In a nutshell, the plaintiffs ( " our " side) assert that the State of

Washington must enforce ITS regulations on both tribal and non-tribal

members when a conservation issue is at stake, and when those regulations do

not discriminate against anyone. If successful, this action would force the

State of Washington to enforce its OWN laws as they pertain to the Makah

hunt. And unfortunately for our whale-killing buddies, Washington State

lists the California gray whale as a " sensitive " species, one step below the

rank of " threatened. " One can envision a very mucked-up future whale hunt as

Coast Guardsmen and federal employees do everything in their power to make

SURE a whale is killed, while at the same time state employees intervene to

PREVENT a whale from being killed! The possibilities boggle the mind, and

might outshine Florida electoral politics for sheer spectacle...

 

The second item will leave you grinning: the " Keith and Ben Show " will NOT

be renewed in subsequent years! And so, we present you the " Slow Blade " and

the " Fast Blade " edition...

*****

 

 

 

THE SLOW BLADE...

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FROM SEA SHEPHERD INTERNATIONAL

December 11, 2000

 

ACTIVISTS SUE WASHINGTON STATE TO PROTECT RESIDENT GRAY WHALES

 

Just over one year after Washington Governor Gary Locke promised to

determine whether the Makah whale hunt threatens a small population of gray

whales residing in Washington waters, activists today vowed to force the

state's Department of Fish and Wildlife to make good on that promise in

court.

 

Under the terms of a management agreement with the federal government, the

Makah have been allowed to hunt only migrating whales. Today, the Sea

Shepherd Conservation Society and Ocean Defense International, two of the

most active opponents of the revived U.S. whale hunt, filed a complaint in

Superior Court in Olympia charging that the state has ignored its own

environmental regulations by refusing to protect a small, local aggregation

of Eastern Pacific gray whales whose numbers are dramatically less than the

oft-cited 22,000+ of the main gray whale population. The activists,

including co-plaintiffs Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales,

U.S. Citizens Against Whaling, and the World Whale Police, are demanding

that the state fulfill its legal obligation to restrict and regulate the

hunt in order to protect the local whale population.

 

" We met with the Governor in Port Angeles last November and brought the

issue of resident whales to his attention, " said Sea Shepherd president Paul

Watson. " He expressed his regret that the Makah were hunting whales and

promised to look into the matter. We later obtained correspondence under the

Freedom of Information Act which showed that after less than a week of

frantic internal damage control efforts at the state capitol for fear of

appearing to oppose the interests of Northwest Native American tribes, the

governor and the Department of Fish and Wildlife claimed that there was no

cause for concern and no such thing as resident whales. Now they'll have to

prove it. "

 

Since the inception of the explosively controversial hunt, the state has

maintained that it is powerless to interfere on the basis that the hunt is

authorized by a treaty between the Makah and the federal government.

 

" It's a common misconception, " said Jonathan Paul, founder of Ocean Defense

International, one of whose members was struck and injured by a Coast Guard

boat when she intervened between Makah hunters and a gray whale last April.

" In a matter of conservation concern, the state has the authority and the

responsibility to step in to implement measures to protect threatened

wildlife within the state, regardless of federal authority. We will show

that this is indeed a matter of conservation concern. "

*****

 

 

 

AND THE FAST BLADE...

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(Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 22, 2000)

 

Ben Johnson, Jr., who served as Makah tribal chairman when the tribe revived

its whale hunt, and Keith Johnson, who heads the tribe's whaling commission,

have lost their bids to remain on the tribal council.

 

Nathan Tyler, an employee at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Makah fish

hatchery, defeated Ben Johnson for a council seat, 189-143.

 

Tyler said earlier that he would stress continued anti-drug efforts and

improved relations with the Cape Flattery School District.

 

" My heart's there for the kids, and I don't think the tribal council

actually has any plans for our youth, " he said.

 

" I came up a bit short, " Ben Johnson said. " The younger generation is coming

in and blowing us... out of the water. "

 

Ben Johnson said he was proud to have led the tribe when whaling resumed

after a 70-year hiatus. He said the event " put the Makah on the map. "

 

An 1855 treaty grants the Makah the right to hunt whales, a long tribal

tradition. The hunts were halted when the gray whale population reached

dangerously low levels in the 1920's, but the tribe moved to resume them

when the whale was taken off the Endangered Species List in 1994.

 

The Makah took one whale in May 1999, but further hunting was barred in June

by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has ordered further review of the

effect on the whale population.

 

Keith Johnson will be replaced on the tribal council by Michael Lawrence,

who beat social services caseworker Gail Davis in Monday's election,

196-163. Johnson didn't make it onto the ballot in last month's nominations

but received 84 write-in votes.

*****

 

 

 

WAIT A MINUTE...

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Did Ben Johnson really say " blowing us out of the water " in that article? Is

it just possible that ol' Ben never really quite understood the concept of

public relations? Pathetic, Ben. Absolutely pathetic.You and Keith will NOT

be missed- by anyone.

*****