The Makah Tribe is a step closer to resuming a controversial whale hunt off the Washington coast.
Wednesday marked the start of a 20-day public comment period on a recommendation to let the hunt go forward.
The last time the Makah legally hunted gray whales was in May 1999; that’s also when the story went worldwide.
The tribe has a long whaling tradition, and it’s written into its treaty.
Federal scientists support the tribe’s request to resume the hunt and said killing a few Eastern North Pacific gray whales will do no harm.
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After a hearing in Seattle in 2019, an administrative law judge last week recommended the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leaders grant a waiver to the Marine Mammal Protection Act and allow the hunt.
“This is a great step forward,” tribal chairman T.J. Greene Sr. said Thursday.
Makah leaders hope to hunt as soon as possible, but there are still several steps ahead in the process, and that doesn’t include any possible lawsuits.
DJ Schubert, a wildlife biologist with the Animal Welfare Institute, said a hunt should not be allowed, especially while the unexplained die-off of gray whales continues.
Schubert said the population of Eastern North Pacific gray whales has dropped 20% since the last count in 2019.
“There are legal, scientific and welfare implications of the hunt,” Schubert said. “It’s simply impossible to humanely kill a large whale.”
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