Whaling from US West Coast?

A Makah Indian from the State of Washington, Dave Green, represents the new face - and the old traditions - within the thinning ranks of whalers at this year's (1995) IWC meeting. The reason why he is here became apparent in the meeting of the Aboriginal Subsistence Subcommittee when the US commissioner announced that next year the US might ask for a quota of five grey whales for "subsistence and ceremonial" purposes on behalf of the Makah. Last year the grey whale was delisted under the US Endangered Species Act, with a stock estimated at about 21,000. It is now back at pre-exploitation levels after being seriously depleted by commercial whaling operations. The Makah last hunted whales in 1926, but are guaranteed whaling rights by the government because of their long-standing tradition of whaling. They have also expressed a desire to conduct commercial whaling in future as a means of strengthening their economy and combatting unemployment, said their fisheries manager David Sones to the Seattle Times. Meanwhile, the West Coast whale-watching industry has expressed concern that the grey whales will become shy and harder to approach if they become the target of hunters.