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US GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT
If ever a species was deliberately driven to extinction,
the Gray Whale is a classic case. The efforts of the US
Government to remove all protection from the Gray Whales are
scandalous. These efforts are not confined to President Bush,
President Clinton was no great shakes in terms of Gray whale
conservation.
Since 1994 when the species was delisted
from the US Endangered Species Act, the conservation efforts
by the US government on behalf of the Gray Whale have been a
carefully orchestrated symphony of spin with senior
bureaucrats becoming the Spin Doctors.
Look at the
facts:
• The Gray whale was delisted on the basis of a
short letter from the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission,
representing 14 commercial fishing groups and 19 tribes.
• The five year monitoring period required by the
Endangered Species Act was never funded or completed.
• Population count methodology has constantly changed
since 1994 with the US government announcing population
increases that are biologically impossible.
• The
massive population collapse of Gray Whales in 1999/2000 when
almost half the population died of starvation was described as
a 'hiccup' by a senior American bureaucrat.
• A
population estimate was carried out in 2001. On the basis of
this estimate, all estimates up until 2006/7, were desktop
studies based on the 2001 estimate. In 2007, the US submitted
a "field report" to the International Whaling Commission
Scientific Committee asserting the Gray whale population
numbered approximately 18,000.
• What the US didn't
tell the IWC was that this estimate was based on the desktop
studies of the 2001 estimate.
• The US failed to tell
the IWC that the "field report" in violation of provisions of
the US Marine Mammal Protection Act which specifies the
details which must be included in any Stock Assessment Report.
• The US failed to tell the IWC that 2007 saw the
lowest mid-calf count in 30 years.
• This Stock
Assessment Report, based on a current information which
includes the collapse of calf numbers should have been
presented to the IWC.
• Instead, the IWC, based on the
"field report" set a quota of 140 Gray whales a year for the
next five years. A totally unsustainable quota which will see
the Gray Whales go to extinction over a relatively short
period of time.
• The US has failed to act in the
light of hugely diminished numbers of whales in the Mexican
lagoons.
• The US has ignored the fact that over 12%
of Gray Whales are so toxic that they have been labelled
"stinky whales".
• The US continues to ignore
sightings up and down the migration route in 2007/8 of
emaciated whales.
• Reproduction rate has dramatically
decreased with females having one calf every 3-4 years instead
of once every 2.4 years. A statistic ignored by the US
Government.
The CALIFORNIA GRAY WHALE COALITION is dedicated to protecting the most
ancient Baleen Whale on Planet Earth.
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SIGN THE PETITION
"I request that the new US Congress take all necessary steps to fund a
comprehensive review of all the major threats facing the California Gray
Whale."
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"A growing number of Gray Whales in the sub Arctic waters are
contaminated. As bottom feeders, these whales are vulnerable to toxic
pollution. Recent data from our worldwide sampling of sperm whale
blubber - The Voyage of the Odyssey - show that many whales are polluted
to levels that make their meat unsafe for human consumption-a sufficient
cause to discontinue whaling."
DR ROGER PAYNE
"The California Gray Whale is an indicator species of the sub Arctic
and Arctic Oceans. With major changes taking place in the
polar marine ecosystems, ensuring ongoing research into the major
threats facing these majestic whales is critical. In the light of
these changes, Gray Whales deserve the highest legal
protection."
DR SLVIA EARLE
"Gray whales face many
pressures, such as lack of food, coastal development and increasing ocean
noise. They need better protection."
JEAN-MICHEL
COUSTEAU
"And God created the great whales
there in Laguna San
Ignacio"
HOMERO ARIDJIS
"the possibility that we might drive these magnificent creatures into
extinction is unimaginable and unacceptable."
DARYL HANNAH
"Life began in the sea. So goes the whale...so goes
mankind. An effort to save the whales benefits us all."
BEAU
BRIDGES
"Thanks for leading the fight to save
the Gray
Whales"
ED BEGLEY JNR
"The Gray Whale is the
marine mammal symbol of California. It deserves to be protected and
honored. I support the creation of a "Whale of a Day" tribute to
this magnificent animal."
PRINCE FREDERIC VON ANHALT
"The Gray Whale faces a myriad of threats from climate change to sonar
testing and oil exploration. They need our help and the California Gray
Whale Coalition is a leading advocate for this important keystone
species."
PEDRO NAVA
"When we fully understand and begin to meet the threats to the
California Gray Whale, we will be addressing the problems that face North
America's entire Pacific coastal ecosystem."
LYNN WOOLSEY
"Saving the Gray Whales from extinction is an absolute must.
This magnificent, intelligent species cannot be allowed to perish from
this earth. If we ignore their plight we ignore the eventual impact
on all species, including our own, of the rapacious practices of mankind."
SARA WAN
"Gray whales need our immediate attention! Due to climate change,
their Arctic food supply is diminishing and the numbers of mother-calf
pairs on the long migration are the lowest in years."
DICK
RUSSELL
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