Whale watching v. whale hunting

[Guest guest]

Message from Cindy Hansen, activist with U.S. Citizens Against Whaling:

 

With the Makah resuming their hunt in Washington state and the threat of

commercial whaling increasing each year, I thought it might be nice for

people to hear about a group of people who love and respect their resident

Gray Whales. I have been very fortunate to work in the ecotourism industry

in Baja California for the past two winters. The San Ignacio lagoon, where

I

work as a whale watching guide, is the only Gray Whale breeding and calving

lagoon that is untouched by industry or human interference. It is a

completely pristine intact ecosystem. And most of the reason that it is

still that way is because the local people have fought to keep it that way.

When Mitsubishi and the Mexican government threatened to build the world's

largest salt factory at the San Ignacio lagoon, the local people teamed up

with Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups to

stop

them even though the factory would have created hundreds of jobs. The fight

was successful, the project was canceled, and the lagoon remains as pristine

as it has been for thousands of years.

 

Part of the reason that the lagoon remains unspoiled is because it is very

remote and difficult to get to. The closest town is 40 miles away on a

rough

dirt road that takes 2 1/2 hours on a good day in a sturdy vehicle.

Tourists

arriving with a group are usually flown in to a sandy lagoon airstrip in

small planes and then transported to the various whale watching camps.

 

The amazing thing about the whale watching industry there is how well it is

regulated. The local " pongeros " or boatmen are the only ones licensed to

operate whale watching pangas. Cruise ships entering the lagoon have to

anchor and hire local people to take them out whale watching. The pongeros

have very strict regulations that they follow to limit the amount of boats

in

the lagoon, the time allowed on the water and the number of boats allowed

around a friendly mom/calf pair. They have even designated a specific

observation area in the outer lagoon to protect the newborn calves who are

usually in the inner lagoon for the first few weeks of life. They police

themselves very well and the whales are always treated with respect.

Furthermore, they truly seem to love their time with the whales.

 

This is the lagoon famous for its " friendly " whales, where the moms will

actually bring

their calves up to the boats to be pet by humans. The moms seem to enjoy

the

interactions as much as the babies do, and will sometimes rub along the

bottoms of the boats, or even playfully lift them up out of the water.

Mom/calf pairs have been known to stay by a boat, interacting with people

for

over an hour at a time. The pongeros, whenever the opportunity presents

itself, will join in the fun and pet the whales as joyfully as the tourists

do. They know many of the whales individually, have even named some of

them,

and recognize individuals as they return to the lagoon year after year. It

is truly a magical place; not just because of the whales but because of the

abundance of other life as well. There are multitudes of birds, fish,

shellfish, sea turtles, and dolphins; all because the local people have

taken

such good care of the lagoon and have so much respect for it.

 

Now I've heard many people ask the question " Aren't we harming these whales

by training them to come up to boats, possibly placing them in danger in

whaling areas? " The truth of the matter is that we didn't train them, they

trained us. They had been approaching boats for years in the San Ignacio

Lagoon but the local fishermen were afraid of them because of their

" devilfish

" reputation. They would bang their oars along the side of the boats to try

to scare the whales away. Finally in 1972, one fisherman decided to put

down

his oar and touch a whale, and the friendly whale behavior has been growing

every year. The truth is that Gray Whales are very curious by nature and

would probably approach boats whether or not we were petting them. I don't

feel that it is right to have to break an incredible bond initiated by the

whales because there is horrible behavior happening somewhere else. The

answer is to stop the horrible behavior. And hopefully the whales will help

us do that. We have to try to convince people everywhere that these highly

sentient animals should not be killed, and I know that everyone who has ever

touched one of these amazing creatures is out there helping us do that as

well. Whale watching is a 2 billion dollar industry and is constantly

growing. Whaling nations need to be convinced that whale watching is an

intelligent sustainable alternative. Just take the San Ignacio Lagoon as an

example. Fishing is illegal in the lagoon for the 4 months that the whales

are there. Ecotourism is a great way for the local people to make a living

during that time. If not for whale watching, they may not have fought so

hard to stop the saltworks because they would have needed the work. The

whales themselves helped save their own environment. Let's hope they can

continue the fight to help save themselves from whaling.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget the PROTEST of the Makah whale hunt on April 13th at noon in

Sekiu. It's been documented that the Makah were in negotiations with Norway

and Japan for " marine mammal products " . This is a commercial venture and

it's a slaughter for money. Contact grwhales or call

206-361-0736.

 

Sandra Abels

U.S. Citizens Against Whaling

" Saving Our Oceans One Whale At A Time "

www.usagainstwhaling.org