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March 10, 2001             
Communication from US Citizens against Whaling
Gray whale count way down                Right whales have more young this year
BC tribe land settlement may cancel whaling demand
Happy Anniversary-well sort of: March 8th 25 years ago marks the last orca capture in Washington State. It was 25 years ago that the terror in Puget Sound came to an end for all but one. Lolita, one of the last whales captured, is still being held prisoner in a small cell in Miami. Her jailer still refuses to return her home to her family. We will soon be working on a plan to help add our voices to the masses that demand her release. Stay tuned for more information.

From our friend Marian P. in Virginia: Bay of Fundy bears great news. The Atlantic Right Whale is one of the most endangered whales. Scientists in the past have speculated that the Right Whale was to the point that they feared they would go extinct. Last year only 4 calves were spotted. This year, however, 23 calves were spotted. Due to heavy shipping on the Atlantic coast ship strikes are frequent and deadly. Now all ships are required to give whales the right of way. During a "Big Ships" regalia to Halifax, the entire fleet came to a screeching halt to allow a few whales to pass by. The US Coast Guard has even performed rescues to untangle a whale from fishinggear. Whale watch organizations even "spot" whales and makes announcements
over VHF to warn freighters that whales are in the area. Maybe there is hope for these great whales yet.

From our friend Donald S. : We added a very disturbing news article to our website. It reinforces the need to take aggressive action against Eastern Caribbean. Specifically St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines. I warn you that the photo and article are very sickening, but it reinforces why actions are needed. Go to www.usagainstwhaling.org/caribbean.htm and scroll down to the photo and read the article below.

From our friends Mike & Winston: A news article recently reported that the Nu-chah-nulth and the British Columbia government have come to a tentative agreement on their treaty. The agreement includes a large sum of money and even larger area of land. No mention of whaling in the treaty. Let's hope this means what it appears to mean.

FROM WASHINGTON CITIZENS' COASTAL ALLIANCE:

GRAY WHALE NUMBERS "SHOCKINGLY LOW"
Missing: 26,000 gray whales. Care to respond, NMFS?

No news yet from NMFS regarding the Makah whaling EA... The agency had estimated that the process would take "around a month," and we will certainly alert you to any developments. However, the agency IS currently in Mexico, proceeding with a gray whale census in the birthing lagoons of San Ignacio. Even as NMFS continues to stubbornly stand fast with their inflated "26,000 plus" estimate of gray whales, information coming out of Mexico indicates that the counts are WAY down from previous years- "shockingly low," according to one San Igancio source.

Only several HUNDRED gray whales have been seen this year, and the number of gray whale calves is unbelievably low! Something smells rotten here, and there is no doubt that the odor emanates from NMFS. As the migration passes the Washington coast, look for vastly lower numbers of gray whales, and count on NMFS (and the Makah tribe) to come up with some of the most amazing excuses for the low numbers. The indisputable fact is that the gray whale population is in deep trouble.  Also beyond doubt is that NMFS is going to do everything they can to cover it up. Here are the latest numbers from San Ignacio:

AS OF MARCH 7
Southbound Today 3
Northbound Today 7
Total Whales Today 10
Calves South Today 0
Calves North Today 0

Season to Date
Southbound ----- 413
Northbound ----- 78
Total -------------- 491
Calves South ---- 11
Calves North ---- 0

If you have any information that you feel needs to reach our friends in whales, feel free to send it to me.  Hoping for peaceful oceans, someday.

Sandra Abels
U.S. Citizens Against Whaling
"Saving Our Oceans One Whale At A Time"
www.usagainstwhaling.org

March 5, 2001 message received
Norway fishers apply to kill dolphins for research and consumption
As you may have heard, Norway may be about to decriminalise dolphin hunting and issue permits to fishermen and whalers to shoot bow-riding dolphins.  With details reminiscent of Japan's so-called 'scientific whaling' programmes, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has applied to the Fisheries Ministry to approve a pilot study; testing contaminants in, and the diet of, 60 dolphins from two pelagic species. Fishermen and whalers, who have long been lobbying the government to lift national ban on dolphin hunting, will be allowed to sell the carcasses for human consumption when the research is complete - despite of the likelihood of dangerously high contaminant levels. After the pilot study in the first year, the numbers of dolphins targeted will increase. None of the proposed research is necessary.

This leaked announcement was the latest in a series of food-related PR nightmares for Norway. Following the revelations earlier this year that Norwegian farmed salmon contains high levels of contaminants, the Norwegian Fisheries Directorate has just confirmed that its whale blubber has a high concentration of dioxins as well as levels of PCBs so high that Japan cannot legally import them - as a Japanese official in the
Norwegian export office has just confirmed. There is still a chance to persuade the Norwegian Government not to proceed with the proposed dolphin hunt or the whale blubber export. We understand that Norwegian Embassies have been surprised by the immediate and fierce public reaction to both announcements.

Please help us stop both the cruel hunt and the export. Write to your local Norwegian Embassy and urge your supporters to do the same. CONTACT (for more details and addresses, go to http://www.wdcs.org/dan/news.nsf/webnews/5B68E736B21C0CFB80256A010040EB0B)

Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg
The Office of the Prime Minister
P.O. Box 8001 dep.
(NO-)0030 Oslo, Norway
Telephone: +47 22 24 90 90
E-mail: postmottak@smk.no

Minister of Foreign Affairs Thorbjørn Jagland
> to send e-mail message:
> http://odin.dep.no/ud/engelsk/dep/statsraad_a/e-post/index-b-n-a.jsp

> Minister of Fisheries Otto Gregussen
> P.O. Box 8118 Dep
> (NO)-0032 Oslo, Norway
> Telephone: +47 22 24 90 90
> Fax: +47 22 24 95 85
> E-mail: postmottak@fid.dep.no

> Embassy of Norway in Great Britain:
> Ambassador H.E. Tarald O. Brautaset
> Royal Norwegian Embassy
> 25 Belgrave Square
> London SW1X 8QD
> Telephone 020 7591 5500
> Fax: 020 7245 6993
> E-mail: emb.london@mfa.no
>
> Embassy of Norway in the United States:
> Ambassador H.E. Tom Vraalsen
> Fisheries Counselor Halvard Johansen
> Royal Norwegian Embassy
> 2720 34th Street NW
> Washington, DC 20008
> T (202) 333-6000
> F (202) 337-0870
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