===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list ===== FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE ------------------------------------------ FACT: The California Gray Whale is listed as a "Sensitive Species" in the State of Washington. FACT: The gray whale was listed as 'Sensitive' because; "Any wildlife species native to the state of Washington that is vulnerable or declining and is likely to become endangered or threatened throughout a significant portion of its range within the state without cooperative management or removal of threats." (WAC 232-12-297, Section 2.6) FACT: "...whale watching has increased, whales may eventually be subject to low-quota harvest by Washington tribes, and there are uncertainties about the status of and risks to gray whales summering in Washington. For these reasons, State Sensitive status is warranted, because the gray whale is vulnerable" and requires "cooperative management or removal of threats" to avoid becoming threatened or endangered. If the gray whale is designated State Sensitive, the Department will be required to prepare a management plan within three years." (WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, July 1997) FACT: "Wildlife classified as protected shall not be hunted or fished. Protected wildlife are designated into three subcategories: Threatened, sensitive, and other." (WAC 232-12-011)(Amending WSR 97-12-048, filed 6/2/97, effective 7/3/97) FACT: It is time to act! Read the information below, and contact the officials at the end of this update! THIS IS VITALLY IMPORTANT! ***** FROM SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY -------------------------------------- November 17, 1999 WASHINGTON TO INVESTIGATE MAKAH WHALE HUNT Governor Locke will weigh state protection of resident Gray whales Saying "I have always been against the hunt," Washington Governor Gary Locke told whale activists in Port Angeles on Tuesday that he will consider the option of intervening against the Makah whale hunt. State lawmakers have previously said they could not intervene, as the hunt concerns a treaty between an Indian tribe and the federal government, but state law gives the governor the authority to intervene in federal and tribal fishery matters when tribal hunting or fishing would defeat the state's interest in conserving a species classified as protected. The Gray whale is listed as a protected species under the rules of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. That option caught the governor's attention when brought up by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society President Paul Watson and Chuck Owens of the Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales, who met with the governor and Department of Wildlife officials in Port Angeles on Tuesday along with Washington Citizens Coastal Alliance activists and Makah elder Alberta "Binky" Thompson. They spoke with the Governor and his aides at a lunch meeting after the governor's steps were dogged by protestors -- bearing signs with such legends as "Welcome to "Clallam County: Whale Killing Capital of the USA." -- during his tour of downtown Port Angeles, which had been designated Washington's "Capital for the Day" for the occasion of Locke's visit. "The Governor told us that after talking with us today, he is asking the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to look into the resident whale issue and see what they can do about it, as well as the Department of Wildlife," said Owens, founder of the PCPW. "He said 'I have always been against the hunt, and we are going to pursue the matter.' " The crux of the matter is the growing certainty that the Makah have been hunting resident, not migratory, Gray whales off the coast of Washington, and that the whale they killed on May 17 was from that specific group of whales, which numbers between 35 and 200 animals. The herd is considered a separate population from the total Pacific herd, which numbers around 24,000. "The primary migration occurs from Mid-December to mid-January, and from late February through the end of April," said Watson. "Any take at all from the resident herd is clearly a conservation threat, and there is not much question that the Makah have been hunting resident whales. The state of Washington is legally obligated to bar the hunt for that reason. The Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations are clear: 'Wildlife classified as protected shall not be hunted or fished.' " Whale biologist Jim Darling underscored this argument in an article in the July 14 issue of the Vancouver Sun, in which he noted that the timing of the Makah's hunts and their stated intent to only strike migrating whales have been equivalent to "declaring you want to catch someone in the morning rush hour, but not trying until 11 a.m." On Tuesday, Locke said he particularly appreciated talking with Alberta Thompson, the Makah elder who has taken the strongest stand against the Makah Tribal Council's whale-hunting scheme. "I had a very wonderful conversation with Binky," he said. "It turns out she used to work with my uncle in a Chinese restaurant years ago." ***** FROM SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY -------------------------------------- November 18, 1999 FEDS WRONG ON WASHINGTON WHALE ISSUE NMFS officials mislead in attempt to head off state action on Makah hunt The federal government has been feeding misinformation to the media following the meeting between Washington Governor Gary Locke and whale activists in Port Angeles, WA, on Tuesday, when the Governor promised to determine whether the state of Washington has the power to protect resident Gray whales from the Makah tribe's federally permitted hunt. Subsequently, officials with the Makah tribe and the National Marine Fisheries Service made statements to the Associated Press that have been widely circulated and are incorrect in several critical areas. A NMFS spokesman asserted that the whale the Makah killed on May 17 was part of the larger, migratory population and "unlikely in the extreme" to have been a resident because "it was taken several miles off shore, traveling north," and thus most likely part of the migrating pods. This statement, made in an attempt to allay legal and conservation concerns that must be addressed should it be found that the Makah tribe is hunting the small coastal population of resident whales, is false in every respect. According to the official "Report of the NMFS Observer Monitoring the Makah Gray Whale Spring Hunt in 1999," the whale was first struck at the position 48° 13.571'N, 124°43.968'W, at 6:55 a.m. Nine minutes later, after the Makah had fired four shots and thrown three harpoons into the whale, with no change of direction noted, the whale's position was recorded as 48° 13.433'N, 124°.44.535'W. In other words, the whale died about ¼ of a mile southwest of its original position. "We charted the path of the whale based on the NMFS coordinates," said Chuck Owens, founder of the Port Angeles-based Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales. "The whale was moving in a south-southwesterly direction, and was never more that a mile and a half offshore." On May 20, three days after the hunt, marine biologists with Cascadia Research identified six resident whales in the immediate area where the whale was shot. The NMFS spokesman also asserted that the resident whale population is highly transient, and its members only stay in the area for a few months, then join the primary migratory population. In fact, many resident whales are known to remain in the area for up to nine months, and then to return there. A Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife spokesman told AP that "The state's authority is superceded by federal authority on marine mammals," specifically by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the U.S.-Makah treaty. But, in fact, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that the state may regulate reservation tribal fishing in "exceptional circumstances." The decision (Puyallup v. Department of Game) upheld state regulation of a tribal fishery because the fishery could have destroyed a fish run. The Court required that the tribe could only exercise its fishing rights "in common with all citizens" and with the state's interest in conserving a natural resource. The Makah have been hunting whales outside the December-April window of the Gray whale's primary twice-yearly migration past Washington's Cape Flattery and the Makah's Neah Bay reservation, when the weather in the region is at its most inclement. "It may be convenient for the Makah to hunt virtually tame resident whales and pretend they are migratory in order to fulfill the terms of their management agreement with NMFS," said Sea Shepherd International Director Lisa Distefano, "but when NMFS gets caught lying about the hunt in order to maintain that myth, it's time for the state to step in and assert its authority over a protected resource. We commend Governor Locke for his principled stand and urge him to get all the information available in determining his course of action. "After the outrageous statements made by NMFS on Wednesday regarding the May 17 hunt, we trust the Governor now knows that the federal government is not to be considered a reliable source for information on this matter." ***** FROM SAFEPASSING.ORG: -------------------- URGENT: ACTION NEEDED BY MONDAY As many of you have probably already heard, Washington State Governor Gary Locke recently stated that he opposes the Makah gray whale hunt. After meeting with "Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales" founders Chuck and Margaret Owens and Makah Elder Alberta Thompson, the Governor announced that he would look into the possibility of Washington State being able to stop the whale hunt. The state has the authority over federal decisions in matters where local biological populations are threatened. (Picture of Chuck and Alberta meeting with Gov. Locke: http://www.safepassing.org/pow) IMPORTANT: The news leaking out of Washington State's capital is that a decision will be made THIS MONDAY about whether or not to pursue the possibility of intervention in the Makah whale hunt. Below is a list of people to contact immediately as they are the ones that will be advising Governor Locke. John Calambokidis and Jim Darling have been studying the gray whales off the coasts of Washington and British Columbia for several years. Both biologists have found evidence that a distinct seasonal resident population of gray whales inhabit the waters off Neah Bay where the Makah are hunting. If the Makah kill whales from this population, the results could lead to a "management problem," in the words of Calambokidis. The Makah have stated that they will not kill a seasonal resident whale, but according to Dr. Darling it is very unlikely that any gray whale swimming past Neah Bay before December 1 would be other than a seasonal resident. Yet, the National Marine Fisheries Service currently allows the Makah to start hunting on October 1. Much more research is needed to determine the size, composition, and sociology of this seasonal resident gray whale population. It is also needed to determine the effects that hunting will have on their population. It is important for the state of Washington to request a moratorium on the hunt until such research has been completed. Otherwise, there is no way to know what damage may be done to this population of whales. Here are some points to make when calling and writing: - Thank the Governor for his decision to see what Washington State can do to stop the Makah gray whale hunt. - Mention that the seasonal resident population of gray whales in Washington State are very important for several reasons: Aesthetic, Economic (whale watching, state tourism), scientific, intrinsic value, etc. Please think of others. - Not enough is yet known about our seasonal residents to know what will happen to their population if up to five per year are hunted. From the little that is known about this population, there could be anywhere from less than 200 up to 500 whales. - IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE HUNTING OF GRAY WHALES BE STOPPED UNTIL FURTHER STUDIES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. SUCH STUDIES ARE NECESSARY TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS THAT HUNTING COULD HAVE ON THE RESIDENT POPULATION! - Reiterate that the hunt was never sanctioned by the IWC. This information should be mailed and/or called in. Only use e-mail as a last resort since it is unlikely they pay as much attention to it. People to contact: GOVERNOR GARY LOCKE Legislative Building PO Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504-0002 Internet: www.wa.gov/governor/ E-Mail: governor.locke@governor.wa.gov Tel 360/902-4111 Fax 360/753-4110 Dr. Jeffrey P. Koenings, Director Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Natural Resources Building 600 Capitol Way N. Olympia, WA 98501-1091 Phone 360 902-2234 Fax 360 902-2947 director@dfw.wa.gov Rocky Beach (yes, this is a real person) Wildlife Diversity Manager Same address as above 360-902-2510 SECRETARY OF STATE RALPH MUNRO Legislative Building PO Box 40220 Olympia, WA 98504-0220 Internet: www.secstate.wa.gov E-Mail: mail@secstate.wa.gov Tel 360/902-4151 Fax 360/586-5629 WASHINGTON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRISTINE GREGOIRE 1121 Washington Street SE PO Box 40100 Olympia, WA 98504-0100 Internet: www.wa.gov/ago/ E-Mail: emailago@atg.wa.gov Tel 360/753-6200 Fax 360/664-0228