Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
The only US-Indian treaty that expressly gives a tribe the right to hunt whales as well as seals is the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay. In the late 1920’s the Makah themselves suspended whaling because the population of Gray Whales had become so diminished from commercial whaling that began in the mid-ninetieth century,
The Gray Whale was placed on the federal endangered species list essentially banning the hunt for Gray Whales by anyone. The Makah’s had already stopped whaling in the 20’s so the ban had no relevant point to the tribe at that time.
When the Gray was removed from the endangered species list, in 1994, the point became one of the US federal government’s responsibility to live up to the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay. As it was determined that the population of the Gray Whales was at a healthy number, a lawsuit was brought against NOAA fisheries in 1997 which led to the Makah’s being granted a quota of 5 ’strikes’ per year until 2002.
The quota of 5 was set by the ‘whaling commission’.
The Makah resumed whaling in 1998. It is widely recognized that the tribe has only taken one whale since then, which was an adult female taken in 1999. An agreement was reached that after the quota period expired in 2002 the Makah would have to obtain a waiver before a hunt. So in February 2005 the Makah did just that…The US government is ‘reviewing the Tribe’s request’.
Is it reasonable for the federal government to take more than 3 1/2 years to review the Makah request to grant or deny the waiver?
Was Saturdays strike on the Gray Whale by some members of the Makah tribe a direct result of the frustration felt by having to wait more than 43 months for the thumbs up or down from the government?
The Makah Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson Jr, is afraid Saturday’s killing of the Gray Whale will affect the Makah’s case to be granted their waiver, and reaffirms the tribe did not authorize the killing of the whale over the weekend. He promises to prosecute ‘those responsible’.
Of the 5 men detained and later released on bail 2 of them were participants in the legal 1999 hunt. One of the men said he wasn’t ashamed of what he had done, and he was feeling ‘kind of proud’ and that he should have done it years ago.
Brian Gorman, A spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency that has taken 43 months to review the Makah request for a waiver said he does not believe Saturday’s whale killing will affect the tribe’s application.
What a sad state of affairs. The whale, now at the bottom of the sea, serving no one and 5 men facing fines of up to $20,000.00 each and a year in prison.
Photo: Museum of History and Industry
Labels: Gray Whale, Makan, Ocean, Ocean Habitat, Ocean Mammals, Sea Mammals, US Coast Guard, Whales
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
The Makah’s, the Gray Whale and the Waiver…
Sunday, September 9, 2007
The AP is reporting that a Gray Whale had been shot by a machine gun near the western tip of Washington State.
The Coast Guard believes members of the Makah tribe shot and harpooned the Gray Whale on Saturday morning. The Whale after having been attacked did not die and is now limping its wounded way back out to sea.
As the Makah’s are happy to tell you at their own website “Whaling has been one of our traditions for over 1,500 years and is a right secured to us by treaty…”
The Makah’s also believe that many of their health problems come from the lack of Sea Mammal Meat in their diet. Give the Makah the genetic link to ‘needing blubber’ in their diet, but take the right to their 50-caliber machine guns away from them if this story turns out to be true.
The Makah are allowed to take 5 Gray Whales per year as part of their ‘cultural and subsistence rights’. I’m no expert on Makah Culture, but I’ll guarantee 1.500 years ago the brave hunters of the Makah Tribe were NOT using machine guns to bring in their hunt.
It seems to me the term ‘culture’ needs to be revisited and revisited in a HUGE way!
The Makah website is also happy to point out in their FAQ section “We will conduct it (the hunt) in a way that is as consistent as possible with our traditional manner of whale hunting, but also with the requirement of the International Whaling Commission and the Marine Mammal Protection Act that the killing of the whale be done in as humane a manner as possible, and at the same time with as much safety as possible for our hunters.”
Sadly many people have been trying to turn up the ‘RACE CARD’ when it comes to the Makah and whaling. The problem with stirring a pot of waste until it comes to a boil is that more often than not, that waste will splatter back upon the one that is stirring the pot. Cruelty is not owned by any particular Race and should be chided when and where ever it is found.
We can only hope that the initial reports of this incident are in error.
Just as shooting fish in a barrel is part of no ones culture, machine gunning down and wounding an animal without killing it is one of the cruelest acts imaginable and hopefully not a part of any ones culture. We hope this act was committed by ’street gangs running rampant’ in the waters off the coast of Washington State.
Labels: Gray, Gray Whale, Grey Whale, Makah, Ocean, Ocean Mammals, Sea Mammals, US Coast Guard, Washington State, accident at sea
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
California Gray Whale Shot by Machine Gun?
Monday, July 2, 2007
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., Donates $9.2 Million to Marine Environmental Projects!
Okay, no they didn’t. Donate is the wrong word. Overseas Shipholding was fined $37million for criminal activities; $9.2 million was ordered community service payments to fund community marine environmental projects. Wilmington; Boston; Portland Maine; Los Angeles; San Francisco and Beaumont Texas all of which were harmed by the illegal dumping of waste oil by Overseas Shipholding Group Inc.
The US Coast Guard says Overseas Shipholding Group was deliberately polluting by dumping waste oils in the above ports. The Department of Justice agreed.
Let’s cut to the chase here and make a long story short. OSG’s management failed to stop this dumping after allegations were brought to them several times. They in fact failed to stop this activity even after the government started its investigation.
Acting on a tip from Canadian Officials an investigation was launched and it was discovered that Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. had offloaded more than 150,000 gallons of oil-contaminated waste in the waters between only Maine and Massachusetts. Adding insult to injury they falsified log records to cover-up their dirty deeds.
OSG company officials admitted in court that its “motive for the crimes was financial” “OSG was saving the cost of offloading waste oil in port and the time it would take to comply with the law,”
There is no way to read anything other than it was cheaper to pay any fines than it would be to comply with environmental regulations.
This tells me, the fines being brought are vastly too low. If this penalty is supposed to serve as a deterrent for other companies attempting to circumvent the law, it’s not going to work.
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. is one of the largest publicly traded tanker firms in the world and according to William Mercer, Acting Associated Attorney General, Overseas Shipholding Group “has engaged in repeated and deliberate pollution of our oceans,”
In April 2007, the Company completed the acquisition of Heidmar lightering business from Heidmar, Inc. which is a subsidiary of ‘Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc. OSG (Overseas Shipholding Group) completed the acquisition of Maritrans Inc., a US Flag crude oil and petroleum product shipping company.
On August 6, 2006 OSG announced a strategic partnership with TransCanada CNG Technologies Ltd.
Are you investing in publicly traded corperations that are commiting evil acts? If while you are planning your future and your childrens future, your investments are assuring your future demise, wittingly or not, you are contributing to global warming, and distrution of ocean habitat.
Please take a hard look at your investments and see where you stand.
It’s interesting to note; OSG’s address is listed as 666 Third Ave. New York, NY.
Kick save and a beauty, you can’t make this stuff up!
Labels: Canada, Fined, Global Warming, OSG, Ocean, Ocean Habitat, Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., US Coast Guard, illegal dumping, oil, oil spill, oil tanker, ports, waste oil
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
What Color is Your Money? Are you unknowingly funding lawless ‘brown pirates’ or ‘green jeannies’?
