Guest guest Posted March 30, 2002 Report Share Posted March 30, 2002 - Campaigns <Campaigns <ar-news Friday, March 29, 2002 5:40 PM (US-WA) Tribe ready to hunt whales > Tribe ready to hunt whales > Makah may launch canoes next month; wider hunting area allowed > > Associated Press > > SEATTLE -- A month after gray whales began their 5,000-mile migration from > Mexico to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, three Makah families are preparing to > set out with their cedar canoes and harpoons. > > The hunt for the whales, which may begin as early as the second week in > April, would be the first off the northwest coast of Washington since the > spring of 2000, a year after the tribe revived its ancient tradition amid > fierce protests from animal-welfare groups. > > It also would be the first hunt under expanded federal marine fisheries > regulations allowing whaling in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where waters are > calmer and safer than the rough seas off Cape Flattery. > > " It comes with some restrictions, but it certainly opens up more than before > and it's based on science, which we feel very comfortable with, " Makah > Whaling Commission President Keith Johnson said Thursday in a telephone > interview from the reservation at Neah Bay. > > Meanwhile, environmental groups are fuming, saying the tribe should wait > until a federal lawsuit challenging the hunt is resolved. > > " We think it's outrageous that the Makah would go forward killing these > whales, especially before this litigation is resolved, " said Michael > Markarian, vice president of The Fund for Animals, a New York-based > animal-rights group. > > The Makah's right to whale is outlined in their 1855 treaty. The tribe moved > to resume the hunt when the whales were taken off the Endangered Species > List in 1994. > > After making their case to the International Whaling Commission, Makah > whalers were allocated 20 whales through 2002, no more than five per year. > They have killed one so far, on May 17, 1999, their first in more than 70 > years. > > In the spring of 2000, a federal judge suspended whaling and ordered the > National Marine Fisheries Service to conduct a new, more comprehensive > environmental assessment. That study, issued last July, cleared the hunts to > resume. > > It also expanded whaling territory to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. > > The fisheries service's second environmental assessment also declared the > Makah could hunt both migrating gray whales and those that spend much of > their time along the Washington coast. Environmentalists call the latter > " resident " whales and argue they need stronger protections. The tribe and > fisheries service call them " feeding aggregations " and insist there is no > genetic distinction between the two. > > The lawsuit filed by The Fund for Animals and several other environmental > groups in January challenges the expanded hunt, calling the studies that > prompted the reopening of the hunt inadequate. > > The fisheries service filed its response March 18, saying its studies > clearly showed that allowing the Makah to hunt no more than 5 gray whales > per year from a population of about 26,000 would not threaten the species. > > Visit the following to register your thoughts on the hunt: > http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=032902 & ID=s1124392 & cat=se > ction.regional > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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