According to Paul Watson from anti-whaling NGO Sea Shepherd, traditional Makah whalers had no plans to resume whaling. Then Watson’s mate Wayne Johnson went out one Saturday morning and killed a gray whale:
According to Lynda V. Mapes reporting for the Seattle Times:
“It was about 6:30 on a beautiful summer morning, with gray whales all around, when Wayne Johnson decided he had waited long enough: It was time to hunt whales again.
Within minutes Saturday, Johnson and four other Makah tribal members were on the downtown dock at Neah Bay, boarding two motorized boats. By the end of the day, the men were in handcuffs and a whale was dead.”
“Sunday, even as tribal council members strongly denounced the hunt, Johnson said he had no regrets. “If anything, I wish I’d done it years earlier,” he said.”
“Johnson confirmed that the hunt that shocked his own tribe and anti-whaling activists Saturday was carried out without the permission of his Tribal Council or Whaling Commission”
“And it was done without conforming to conditions of the federal permit that controlled that 1999 hunt — permission from the tribe; prior notification to a federal observer who had to be in place at the time of the kill; restricting the hunt to the outer coast to protect “resident” whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; approaching the whale in a traditional canoe; and using first a harpoon and then a .50-caliber gun to dispatch the whale.
On Saturday, there was no permit, no observer, no canoe; no restricting the hunt to the coast. Just five whalers, four from the 1999 hunt, casting loose from the downtown dock.
“Why mess around with a canoe?” Johnson said. “It would have been more people in jail, and we would have lost the canoe.”
“Saturday night, after the whalers were taken into custody, tribal officials met with community members for more than two hours to talk about what had happened. Some were concerned the rogue hunt would complicate and slow their efforts to legally hunt whales again.”
Journalist Ken Schram is even harder on Wayne Johnson:
“Don’t call it a hunt.”
“Never mind that they didn’t have permission from the Makah tribal council to hunt the whale.
Never mind that they didn’t have the necessary federal permit.
Never mind that the spiritual and cultural elements of a whale hunt were no where to be found.
Never mind any of that.
Wayne Johnson, the guy who says he’s got whaling in his blood, just felt the time was right to go out and kill.
No blubber shared with the elders and the young.
No ancestral stories.
No respect for the whale or for Indian heritage.
It took 12 hours for the gray whale to die.
Meanwhile …
An American animal rights activists has take responsibility for the sinking of the Norwegian whaling ship:
“On the night of august 30th we decided to celebrate the end of commercial whaling in Iceland by removing a large section of cooling pipe in the engine room of the norweigan whaler Willassen Senior.
“After ensuring that the vessel was unoccupied the salt water intake valve was opened unleashing a torrent of water into the heart of the killer ship that two years earlier took 14 minutes to brutally murder a threatened minke whale.”
“The sinking of the whaler and the silencing of its deadly harpoon is dedicated to the memory of the yangtze river dolphin who because of humankinds greed will never again grace the waters of our blue planet”
Of course now the whaler has been sunk due to anti-whaling activists, Norwegians will probably once again unite to defend whaling as was proved in the late 90’s. Indeed, the local Labour Party Chair has now stated this is a terrorist attack on Norway and wants political reaction.
Ann Novek,
Sweden
———————
Apologies to Ann for not posting this sooner.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
The latest news are that Norwegian activists from the cell group Agenda 21 have taken responsibility to have sunken the whaler.
They have been in contact with Paul Watson in Sea Shepherd who knows the activists. Agenda 21 has been involved in sabotage of whaling ships back in the 90’s.
Media speculates that an undercover footage of the whaling ship ” the Willassen Senior” from 2005 when it was filmed by WSPA to have killed a whale that took 14 minutes to die , lies behind the motive to sabotage the whaler.
All environmental NGOs , including Greenpeace condemn the attack.
“Of course now the whaler has been sunk due to anti-whaling activists, Norwegians will probably once again unite to defend whaling as was proved in the late 90’s. Indeed, the local Labour Party Chair has now stated this is a terrorist attack on Norway and wants political reaction.”
As for “The sinking of the whaler and the silencing of its deadly harpoon “, Willassen Senior has now been refloated and will most likely be cleaned and refitted shortly in order to take advantage of the herring season. They´ll be back whaling next April May.
Quite true Anne, this one action has most likely set back the cause of the anti-whaling crowd 20 years, at least in Norway.
It´s quite funny watching all the NGO´s trying to distance themselves from the action – too late guys ;O)
“most likely set back the cause of the anti-whaling crowd 20 years”
What cause is it that they are for again?
Internet poll conducted by Norwegian paper ” Dagbladet”:
About 76 % support whaling and about 21 % oppose whaling.
Re Sea Shepherd and Paul Watson. PW was glad that the activists sank the whaler . I see as well from an Anglo-Saxon paper that most people are glad that the whaler was sunk( contrary to the Norwegians).
So guys , is PW completely mad or has he achieved something good in his days????
An excerpt from Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals ( Chapter on Pirate Whaling):
” Unregulated whaling conducted under the flags of non-IWC member nations has contributed to the depletion of some whale stocks. The most famous of these operations was that conducted by interests in Norway and Japan from 1968 to 1979 in the North and South Atlantic under the flags of Somalia, Cyprus, Curacao and Panama. Meat from the whales was shipped to Japan.
The ” RUN” operated mainly in the South Atlantic from January 1968 to February 1972. It was renamed SIERRA in 1972 and expanded major operations to the North Atlantic in 1975 where it continued taking whales until rammed and sunk by Watson.”
Totally off topic, but found this disturbing news on a whale hugging site:
Greenpeace has no position regarding exports of live dolphins
Posted at 21:59 on 14 September, 2007 UTC
Greenpeace says it has no position regarding the export of live dolphins.
The Solomons Islands government has taken up the export of live dolphin recently despite a ban introduced in 2005.
The previous government stopped the export of live dolphins after an international outcry following the export of almost 30 Solomons dolphins to an aquatic park in Mexico.
But a Greenpeace representative, Nilesh Goundar, says it has no comment to make on Solomon Island’s resumption of the live dolphins trade.
“We have not developed a position as yet on that, because at the moment the campaign we are working on in the Pacific is on tuna fisheries. I am not in a position to comment on that.”
Greenpeace representative, Nilesh Goundar
” Note: This is precisely why Greenpeace should not be receiving donations from ANYONE. Their organization stopped fighting for nature and the environment quite some time ago. -Dolfin ”
Link to the above article:
http://tursiops.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4626
>disturbing news on a whale hugging site
Which bit is ‘disturbing’ Ann, the Solomon Islands’ dolphin round up, or the fact Greenpeace are not commenting?? As far as I am aware, Greenpeace has not involved itself in captivity issues in the past. Perhaps it sees other agencies as serving this purpose better?
>Greenpeace says it has no position regarding the export of live dolphins.
>“We have not developed a position as yet on that…”
>Their organization stopped fighting for nature and the environment quite some time ago. -Dolfin ”
So because they don’t have a position on it yet they should be criticised? On the one hand they are trying to do too much and on the other they are not doing enough, according to which critic you listen to. Boring.
Some public servants have been known to take more than 70 years to die. Bravo Wayne.
Did the journo who criticised him for not sharing the blubber bother to consider the fact that this might have been because he was in hand-cuffs?
Since when have traditional hunters sought the permission, written or otherwise, of their elders to go fishing?
Since when has the right to develop, utilise or enjoy new technology been denied to indigenous people in direct contradiction of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights? See http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1976/5.html
Indeed, how, exactly, can a UN sponsored group like the IWC apply a set of rules that contravenes a fully ratified UN Convention?
Hey Travy,
Seems like you’re a bit too sensitive when it comes to Greenpeace…
Methinks as well it was kind of disturbing that they don’t have a position on Solomon Island live dolphin trade as this has been discussed ( even among Greenpeacers since 2005, ask Lamna!).
The IUCN and CITES condemn the live dolphin trade that IS NOT ONLY a question of captivity.
As Greenpeace is involved in investigations re tuna fisheries in the Pacific and threats of boycotts of tuna products from the Earth Island Institute they should have been more aware of the issue IMO!
To Ian :
A: The Makah are the only Indian tribe in the country whose right to whale is explicitly written in a treaty. In 1855 the tribe ceded most of its ancestral lands to the U.S. in return for certain rights, including the right to fish, hunt and whale in its usual and accustomed areas. The tribe accepted a relatively small reservation, in part, because it was on the sea that provided much of its food.
Q: Are there rules governing Makah whaling?
A: Makah whaling is governed by tribal, federal and international laws.
• A tribal management plan restricts where and how whales may be hunted. The whalers who killed a gray whale Sept. 8 broke the restrictions: They didn’t have a permit; they used a motorboat instead of a canoe; they hunted in an area set aside for resident whales. They also did not quickly kill the whale. Instead, the animal, harpooned and shot multiple times, took about 10 hours to die.
• In a deal with the U.S., the International Whaling Commission has set a quota of five gray whales a year — totaling no more than 20 over five years — for Makah subsistence hunting. The Makah may not sell the meat commercially and must demonstrate a shortage of whale meat on the reservation before each hunt.
According to WDCS the meat from the last hunt was mostly wasted.
Link to Travis:( on CITES and Solomon Island dolphins)
http://solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=576
” Since when has the right to develop, utilise or enjoy new technology been denied to indigenous people in direct contradiction of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights? ” -Ian
This is a very interesting topic that has been touched a little on the narwhal thread.
It seems like the Inuits in Alaska are allowed to use motorboats in their whale hunting and they’re going to use Norwegian penthrite grenades as well in the fall hunt , so I don’t know why it’s stated that the Makahs may only use a canoe ??
>Seems like you’re a bit too sensitive when it comes to Greenpeace…
It is the environmental organisation that cops the most flak from yourself and others Ann, hence the mention on both sides.
Travis,
Promise to improve myself and not being such a mean bitch ;-)!
To Ian :
The International Whaling Commission has lodged a protest with the United States government over this incident and the IWC will certainly be aware of the violations when they meet again next year to discuss the Makah request for a quota
To Travis:
Probably this dolphin guy is a Sea Shepherd supporter, that’s why he’s angry with Greenpeace
” It´s quite funny watching all the NGO´s trying to distance themselves from the action – too late guys ;O)” – George
“most likely set back the cause of the anti-whaling crowd 20 years”
What cause is it that they are for again? ” – David
FYI guys. All Norwegian environmental NGOs ( Bellona, Norwegain Society for Nature Protection and Nature and Youth) support whaling and made statements after the sabotage ” that opposing Norwegian whaling has nothing to do with environmentalism or conservation as Norwegian whaling is fully sustainable).
Today another animal protection NGO condemned the sabotage and said that whaling is not on our agenda as we prioritize work with farm and lab animals.
So it’s really a cultural difference here what’s important for the NGOs in Anglo-Saxon countries compared to whaling countries….
“So because they don’t have a position on it yet they should be criticised? On the one hand they are trying to do too much and on the other they are not doing enough, according to which critic you listen to. Boring.”
Actually Travis, GP has never had an official position on Live dolphin / marine mammal captures since the industry first started way back in the 1960´s ( As far as I can remember anyway – Feel free to correct me on that ) So it would be kinda surprising for them to start now when the industry is in decline
With rights come responsibility !
And yes the sinking of the whaling ship was a very stupid thing to do, especially as it was not destroyed beyond repair.
I wonder if the Makah hunt will have effected their cause similarly.
Hi Martin,
“And yes the sinking of the whaling ship was a very stupid thing to do, especially as it was not destroyed beyond repair”
Interesting Comment – So do you feel that if the ship was ” destroyed beyond repair”, it would´nt have been stupid? Or that it would have been justified?
I don´t know if that was what you meant but it certainly looks that way – feel free to elaborate
It is obvious from the nature of the whale kill that Mr Johnson plans to test some of these principles in both the formal courts and the court of tribal opinion.
This notion that tribal people can only pursue their rights in traditional ways with traditional technology has a pervasive stench of hypocritical discrimination about it. As if the tribe themselves are some form of extension of a nature reserve, to be “protected” in a time warp by gucci green urban dilettantes but ignored whenever their legitimate aspirations clash with the neo-tribal decore.
“onya Wayne”, I just can’t wait for the day when the brothers and sisters barbeque a beached whale at Byron Bay.
>Promise to improve myself and not being such a mean bitch ;-)!
Ann I like you just the way you are 🙂
Travis wrote:
>As far as I am aware, Greenpeace has not involved itself in captivity issues in the past.
George wrote:
>Actually Travis, GP has never had an official position on Live dolphin / marine mammal captures since the industry first started way back in the 1960´s…
Yup, that would be close to what I wrote.
” Tribal law requires the judge to consider not only what happened to the whale but damage done to the entire community. Possible penalties could include up to a year in jail in Neah Bay and a $5,000 fine.
“Of course I’m worried about what could happen,” Wayne Johnson, one of the whalers, said. “That jail is like a dog pound. I had a friend in there and they fed him the same surplus-commodity TV dinners from Fort Lewis for three months.”
But Johnson, who is unapologetic about the hunt, insists that the whalers can fall back on their treaty rights – an argument Vitalis and Doulik reject out of hand.
“We are just trying to follow today’s standards and procedures”
http://www.examiner.com/a-938296~For_Makah_tribal_judges__case_of_killed_whale_is_personal.html
The Norwegian police state that the sabotage of the whaler was done in an extremely professional way and it’s a work of professionals and not by amateurs.
I’m not going into any technical fetails here but the whaler started to leak at four difference places and the gasoline pumps were cut off so if somebody had come aboard when the ship was sinking it was impossible to restart the engines etc and start pumping out water.
I saw as well on the American activists site that the animal rights activists use butyric acid in their actions, something that Watson also did.
On one pic on the American website there was as well a pic on an action against a Norwegian fur farm with text in Norwegian.
The whales’ war….
Sorry for my poor English , but according to media in Norway , the sunken whaler must sign a ” war insurance” to get compensation for the damage done by the whale activists. If they don’t sign a war insurance they have to pay about 22 million Norwegian crowns for repair etc.
It seems as well that all whaling ships must now sign a ” war insurance”.
To understand many Norwegian’s position on whaling you need only to listen to their politicians.
One politician in the Parliament stated today that Norway must understand what favour the whalers do to Norway( Guess he means that they hunt whales because they eat fish)and demanded the whole nations support for the whalers.
He also demanded that the State would compensate the whalers and their families if they were under attack by anti whalers.
He stated as well that this previous attack on the whaler was an attack on ” the whaling nation Norway”.
Icelandic turn around re commercial whaling.
The Icelandic commercial whaling season is extended to November 1.
We have no clue why the season is extended ( opposing the NGOs claim of a victory???) but according to Icelandic Minke Whaler’s Association’s website, the whale meat is selling fine.
http://www.hrefna.is
Alx Dark created a good site dealing with the Makah Hunt. It dates mainly from 1999 when the Makah went out and harvested their first whale in 70 odd years.
His piece is interesting and the section on eco-colonialism certainly wraps up most of the fatuous arguments our “compassionate” friends trot out:
http://www.ncseonline.org/NAE/cases/makah/index.html
Seems relevant to the Polar Bear thread too.
Hi IceClass,
I’m afraid that your comment is not much read now when it has disappeard from the ” front page”.
Maybe you could post a guest blog to Jennifer on ” eco -imperialism” ? She is very kind and usually post guest blogs on such subjects.
Looking forward to such a thread…