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

LATE A.M. HUNT UPDATE
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At 10:20 am, the U.S. Coast Guard has reportedly arrested Lisa DiStefano of
the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and confiscated her inflatable boat.
The Makah whaling crew is still actively hunting a gray whale.
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BREAKING NEWS FROM SEDNA
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May 15, 1999 (9:12 a.m.)


WHALE DEFENDERS HELD
BY U.S. COAST GUARD AS
WHALE HUNT CONTINUES

MAKAH BAY, WA
Several coalition boats from whale defenders, including the Sea Defense
Alliance's 42-foot flagship, were boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard
Saturday morning about 9 a.m. in what appears to be a mass arrest or
detainment of anti-whale hunting protestors.

According to those on board SEDNA's a 42-footer "Bulletproof," the crew of 8
and the boat are being escorted by CG cruisers back to the U.S. Coast Guard
Station at Neah Bay. They are expected to arrive about 10 a.m. Charges are
unknown at this time. But, four armed Coast Guard officers are on board the
SEDNA boat and forcing it to return to port under heavy escort.

Claims by the Makah that the SEDNA boat hit a whale are completely false.

"We're here to protect whales from killers like the Makah. We did not, nor
could we, injure a whale because our boat does not have props...we're a
flat-bottom boat," said Jonathan Paul, SEDNA skipper, from a cellphone at
the scene Saturday. "This is just another lie by the Makah to get us out of
their way so they can kill."

Early last week two activists from SEDNA were arrested for allegedly
interfering with the hunt of a Gray Whale. They were later released but
banned from going back to the protests. Their 19-foot inflatable boat was
seized by the CG.

The CG also boarded the SEDNA flagship boat at gunpoint Monday, and detained
it for hours before letting it go.
*****



FROM WCCA
---------------------
It has been suggested that concerned people call the various Seattle-area
television stations and tell them that they should stop stating, as fact,
that a whale was hit by SEDNA....  (a) SEDNA did not, and (b) the media's
job is to be objective- not act as prosecutors.

Stations currently covering the hunt are KING-5, KIRO, and Northwest Cable
News.
*****