Re: [Paddlewise] Message from Steph Dutton & Michael Kundu....

From: R. Walker <rww_at_mailbox.neosoft.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 13:54:55 -0600
[this will be my only messages on the Makah whaling thread..]

> 2. You'd have better luck persuading me if the folks preserving
> their culture did so without the 50 caliber rifle.

That rifle, as obnoxious as it sounds, is the appropriate weapon to 
insure that there are no lost woundeds.  A harpooned whale is 
virtually guaranteed to die; what is not guaranteed is the recovery 
and appropriate use of the animal's carcass.

> 3.  With only 20k whales in the species, 20 taken over 5 years is very
> significant.

>From what I know of wildlife management, 20k individuals, and an 
extremely limited annual take is perfectly reasonable.  Compared 
with all the other hunted mammals in North America, it seems very
conservative.  Now traditionally, one would auction off tags and then
use the proceeds to enhance habitat, but I don't know how that 
model could work with whales...  Sure would be a good way to 
suck money out of folks who say they want whales protected, but 
don't ever get their checkbooks out.   Every year, auction 4 new 
tags, plus any that were not filled from previous years...

Course, whale management is so tied up in emotionalistic 
nonsense that it is hard to have a reasoned discussion about 
sustainable yield in whale populations and how to issue tags and 
use the moneys collected in that manner.

In order to avoid protracted list-abuse, I will allow the anti-whaling 
folks to have the last word...


Richard Walker
Houston, TX
http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html

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Received on Mon Oct 26 1998 - 13:20:34 PST

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