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November 21, 1999       Nov. 26 Fish & Wildlife Dept. said "NO JURISDICTION"
Washington's Gov. Gary Locke set to challenge federal policy on Makah killing of gray whales.  In a surprise announcement to the Peninsula Citizens for the Protection of Whales at Port Angeles on November 17, Governor Locke revealed that he had always been opposed to the Makah whale hunt.  He said he would be asking the Secretary of State, the Attorney General and the Department of Wildlife to determine whether the state authority to protect resident gray whales supersedes that of federal agencies promoting the Makah hunt.  You can express your support to Gov. Gary Locke at
PO Box 40002, Olympia WA 98504-0002
or email him at Governor.Locke@Governor.wa.gov

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Makah accused of lying
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society issued a report on November 20, demonstrating that the Makah's only kill so far was most probably a resident gray whale while their (illegal) authorization from the federal government applies only to migratory whales.  Resident whales are friendly, come right up to boats, and are held dear by Washingtonians.  They are also a source of revenue from tourists and support a growing whale-watching industry.

Following Governor Locke's announcement, NMFS and the Makah issued statements to Associated Press that the whale the Makah killed in May was part of the migratory population and taken "several miles offshore, traveling north" and "unlikely in the extreme" to be part of the resident population.

Notes taken by a NMFS observer indicate otherwise.  They give the positions at which the whale was first struck and where she died nine minutes later, a mile farther southwest , after being hit with four shots and three more harpoons.  The Peninsula Citizens for the Protection Whales had charted the whale's course which was south-southwest and never more than a mile and a half off shore.  Three days later, on May 20, marine biologists identified six resident whales in the same
location where the young female had been harpooned and shot.

NMFS  claimed resident whales were "highly transient" and remain residents for only a few months.  Actually, they have been recorded to remain as long as nine months and then to leave and return.  The resident population, which is separate from migratory herd, is estimated to be as few as 35 and maybe as many as 200 individuals compared to the estimated migratory population of 24,000.  The migrations take place between mid- December and mid- January and between late February and the end of April, a further indication that the Makah killed a resident whale on May 17.   The loss of a single individual is critical for a population of even 200 members and maybe only 35..

The hope for the state of Washington to protect the resident herd lies in a U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in 1977 that the state may regulate reservation tribal fishing "in exceptional circumstances".  The decision ruled that the Puyallup tribe could only exercise its fishing rights "in common with all citizens" and with the state's right to preserve a natural resource.

November 16, 1999
Activists resume whale patrols in response to Makah announcement that they would kill four gray whales right after the first of November in order to complete their quota of five for 1999.  The Sea Defense Alliance (SeDnA) log reported (October 24) that no less than three Coast Guard vessels, two National Marine Fisheries boats and one NOAA vessel (all operated at US taxpayer expense) were at Neah Bay ready to assist the Makah to kill.  As the gray whale migration doesn't start until mid-December, it appeared that the Makah intended to kill relatively tame resident whales.  So far, rough seas have kept the Makah ashore.  The hunt this year is in the hands of individual families rather than the tribe as whole.  A big crane has been erected at the Makah fish processing plant leading to concerns that should they kill another whale, it will be hauled out of sight before it can be identified as a member of the resident population.

November 14, 1999
San Ignacio Lagoon still threatened by Mitsubishi-Mexican government joint salt evaporation plans.  Despite a million letters opposing the proposed salt plant received by Mitsubishi, the company is still pushing plans for its development. In the last pristine birthing area of the gray whales, used by an estimated 2000 whales every winter. 

The Environmental Defense Fund and the International Fund for Animal Welfare joined a coalition of Mexican groups and the million people worldwide who have lodged individual protests.  Five California cities: Berkeley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Poway and San Francisco have taken the unusual step of registering their opposition.  A second Environmental Impact Statement is being translated into Japanese.

October 29, 1999 from BBC Online 
Dolphin slaughter routine along the Japanese coast
The Japanese are continuing to slaughter dolphins, despite a falling demand for their meat in Japan and fears that much of it is heavily contaminated.

A 'drive fishery' is reported to have taken place 13th October at the port of Futo, in the Prefecture of Shizuoka in which wild bottle-nosed dolphins were driven into a small bay, trapped by nets, and over the next day, 69 killed. Six of the most attractive were selected for sale to the aquariums who had pre-ordered them. Of those, two died immediately.

Sue Fisher, campaigns manager at the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society
(WDCS), says that events such as these are common, with the resident striped dolphins being targeted as they travel in herds. Dall's porpoise is also
hunted, with up to 20 000 being killed a year.

According to the WDCS, a worryingly disproportionate amount of the more
easily accessible females are taken. "Fishermen themselves say that the
numbers are going down and down," says Fisher.

The Japanese Government sets quotas for the hunting of each species of
dolphin, varying in each prefecture (local government area), depending on
when the seasonal migratory routes bring them close to the shore. But WDCS says nobody knows how large the populations are, so it is not possible to say what impact hunting is having.

Consumers of cetacean meat are also at risk. Frighteningly high levels of
mercury have been found in dolphins, with the liver of one Dall's porpoise
in a WDCS survey in February 1999 containing over 200 parts per million. The
Japanese health authority has set a maximum level of 0.4 parts per million
for consumers.

According to the WDCS, over 52 per cent of the whale and dolphin products
tested were unfit for human consumption, with other contaminants being PCBs and pesticides such as DDT.

The drop in consumer demand for whale meat has meant that the hunted
cetaceans are now being used as a cheap source of fertiliser.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/animalzone/107news4.shtm       
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/8126