New report opens door to possible whale hunting for Makah tribe

Washington’s Makah tribe could again be allowed to hunt gray whales.

The government issued a draft environmental statement Friday in response to the tribe’s longstanding request to resume whaling. It considers several options, including allowing the tribe to take up to five whales per year, said Michael Milstein, NOAA Fisheries spokesman.

“This is the first step in a public process of considering this request that could eventually lead to authorization for the tribe to hunt gray whales,” Milstein said. “We’re going to have public meetings, take public comment and then we’ll come up with a determination on whether to move forward.”

The report comes more than ten years after the tribe sought a waiver to the Endangered Species Act, said tribal chair TJ Greene.

“We’re happy,” Greene said. “This has been a long time coming. We have a spiritual connection to our whaling practices. It’s not only part of our culture, it’s part of our spirituality.”

The Makah tribe has hunted whales for over 1,500 years before halting whaling in the 1920’s after commercial hunting dramatically reduced the eastern North Pacific gray whale population, according to NOAA.

The tribe was granted permission in 1997 to resume hunting after the whales were removed from the endangered species list, and successfully killed a single whale in 1999.

But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the permitted hunt and ruled in favor of several animal rights groups that sued the government. They argued the hunts violated the Marine Mammal Protection act, which prohibits the taking of marine mammals.

The tribe applied for a waiver of the MMPA and the government launched a new EIS in 2006, but the process soon stalled out based on new research.

“Some new science emerged about gray whales that indicated there are some distinct sub-groups of the whales that needed particular protection, so we basically started the EIS over again,” Milstein said.

According to Milstein, researchers have now determined the eastern north Pacific gray whale population is healthy and no longer threatened, making limited whaling potentially viable.

“You know they had been hunted way down over the decades and the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act has really helped bring that population back and that’s the only way we can really consider going forward with something like this,” he said.

“We’re patient,” Greene said. “We know that there are still things that are going to happen until we can exercise that reserve treaty right.”

The proposal to allow whaling again will face fierce opposition from a number of groups.

DJ Schubert, a wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute, said that while his group respects the tribal culture, whale hunting is inherently cruel and allowing the tribe’s request could threaten other critically endangered gray whale species that migrate through the area.

“Times change, situations change, philosophies change and we would encourage the Makah tribe to consider a new relationship with gray whales. A relationship that recognizes their sentience, that recognizes their ecological importance,” he said.

Schubert, who has worked closely with the tribe, is encouraging the tribe to implement a whale watching operation instead of resuming hunting.

“The reality is they’d be able to interact with the gray whales, they’d be able to introduce the public to gray whales, they’d be able to introduce people to their culture, and they’d be able to increase tourism to the reservation.”

While the Makah tribe has not legally hunted whales since 1999, five tribal members were arrested and pleaded guilty to violating federal laws after illegally killing a gray whale in 2007.

The public comment period is open for 90 days. You can comment and learn more at NOAA’s website. NOAA Fisheries is also planning a series of public meetings to gather information and comments on the document.