The U.S. government's long-running review of a Washington-based tribe's contentious bid to hunt grey whales off the Pacific Coast has been halted after a team of Canadian scientists discovered that a genetically distinct group of just 200 whales living around the Canada-U.S maritime boundary — along with the wider population of 20,000 — could be affected by the proposed harvest.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this week that it was scuttling the original assessment of the Makah Nation's planned whale hunt. The controversial assertion of historic aboriginal rights, with a proposed maximum of 20 whales to be killed over five years, has drawn opposition from some scientists and West Coast environmental groups.
NOAA concluded that the emergence of "substantial new scientific information" related to the so-called Pacific Coast Feeding Group of 200 grey whales — which range between Northern California and Northern B.C., including waters off the Olympic Peninsula traditionally hunted by the Makah — required that the agency "terminate" the current review and start over again.
Understanding the movements and habits of the distinct PCFG population is "central to our consideration of the tribe's request," including the aim of preserving genetic diversity among grey whales, NOAA stated.
The issue first flared in May 1999 when Makah hunters set off in a traditional canoe and harpooned a 10-metre grey whale. It was the first successful harvest by members of the tribe since the 1920s, when a critical population decline in the species prompted a voluntary end to whaling activities that are uniquely permitted under provisions of the Makah Nation's treaty with the U.S. government.
But the whale's death also sparked protests from wildlife advocates and led to a series of court battles. It was eventually ruled that the Makah required a special federal exemption from U.S. mammal-protection laws that prohibit whaling. In 2005, in response to a formal request from the Makah Nation, NOAA began the environmental review process — which has now been halted.
In the meantime, however, an unauthorized hunt in 2007 led to another grey whale's harvest and the conviction of two Makah tribal members for violating U.S. law, further stoking opposition to any resumption of whaling in the Pacific Northwest.
Now, NOAA has acknowledged that recent research conducted by biologist Tim Frasier of Saint Mary's University in Halifax, B.C. scientist Jim Darling of the Pacific Wildlife Foundation and Trent University researchers Sharlene Koroscil and Bradley White has forced the U.S. review panel to recast its focus to capture what's known today about the smaller, more vulnerable PCFG population of whales.
"This is an entirely sensible step — it's the only step to take," Darling told Postmedia News on Wednesday. "The amazing thing is how long it took to get here. It's where the whole thing should have started over a decade ago."
Darling said that even before the Canadian team published evidence in 2011 of the genetic distinctiveness of the PCFG population, years of behavioural research and photo-identification tracking had shown "that many of the same individuals return to the region each summer" — a pattern repeated by their offspring — and that they should be considered separately in any wildlife management plan.
"Unquestionably, there are still significant unknowns about the social organization and behaviour of this southern group," added Darling, noting that research is continuing. "We are pleased that this work will contribute to the development of a more meaningful management plan."
Micah McCarty, chairman of the Makah Nation, said Wednesday that he had not yet consulted widely with members of the tribe but was "not surprised" by the NOAA announcement.
He added that he feels "frustrated" at "how easily it may seem for anti-whalers to throw monkey wrenches into the process."
But McCarty also noted that the Makah already have pledged to constrain their hunting activities to reduce the risk of harvesting whales from the PCFG population when they are in the vicinity of Juan de Fuca Strait, between the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island.
The Makah Nation is "always interested in seeking more information" about the Pacific grey whales and gaining "a better understanding of the ecology" of the region, he told Postmedia News.