From: Kate Wing <[log in to unmask]>

Marine Mammals

{Captive Orcas  Die.   In  mid-June  1997,  two  of  the  5 orcas
captured off Taiji, Japan, on Feb.  7, 1997, died  in  captivity.
On  June  14, 1997, the youngest male orca captured died at Nanki
Shirahama Adventure World.  On  June  17,  1997, a female orca at
the same facility died; this whale was  pregnant  when  captured,
but had a miscarriage in April 1997.} [personal communication]

{Mortality  Events.   In mid-June 1997, nine dead dolphins washed
ashore on Delaware beaches, many  of them newborn animals.  Cause
of the mortality could not be  immediately  determined.   BETWEEN
LATE MAY AND MID-JUNE 1997, 17 ADULT HARBOR SEALS HAVE BEEN FOUND
DEAD  ON  BEACHED  IN  MARIN  COUNTY,  CA.  THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS
UNDETERMINED.} [Assoc Press]

{Pirate  Whaling?    In   mid-June   1997,   NMFS   requested  an
investigation of reports that as many as 12 sperm whale carcasses
were sighted in the central  Atlantic,  200  miles  west  of  the
Azores    Islands,    with   large   orange   buoys   and   radar
reflectors/beacons   nearby.    The   Portuguese   government  is
reportedly sending a naval vessel to  investigate.   Dead  whales
began  to be reported by yachts on May 13, 1997, and two possible
whaling vessels operating  without  lights  were  reported on May
27-28.} [personal communication]

CITES - Whales.  On June 13, 1997, delegates at  the  meeting  of
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild  Fauna  and Flora) Parties in Zimbabwe voted 27-51 by secret
ballot to defeat  a  Japanese  proposal  to sever linkage between
CITES and the  International  Whaling  Commission,  giving  whale
conservation monitoring to CITES exclusively.  {On June 16, 1997,
CITES  delegates  rejected by a 47 to 64 vote a Japanese proposal
to downlist eastern Pacific gray whales.  On June 17, 1997, CITES
meeting delegates  rejected  additional  proposals  by  Japan and
Norway to downlist several  minke  whale  populations  and  allow
international  trade in certain whale products.  Norway's request
on minke whales failed  on  a  secret  ballot  vote of 57-51, not
having achieved  the  two-thirds  majority  required.   Delegates
voted  45-65 by secret ballot to defeat Japanese proposal on west
Pacific minke whales and voted 53-59 by secret ballot to defeat a
Japanese proposal on  south  Pacific minke whales.  Subsequently,
Japan withdrew a third proposal to downlist Bryde's whales in the
northwest Pacific.} [Reuters, Dow Jones News, Assoc Press]

Hawaiian Whale Sanctuary.  June 6,  1997,  was  the  deadline  by
which  HI  Governor Ben Cayetano was to have decided how much, if
any, of  a  proposed  1,680  square  miles  of  state  waters and
submerged lands should be included within  the  Hawaiian  Islands
Humpback  Whale  National  Marine Sanctuary and managed under its
federal management plan.  [Assoc Press]

Norwegian Whaling.  On May 26,  1997, a Dutch court rejected Paul
Watson's petition for  release  on  bail  at  a  hearing  on  his
possible  extradition  to  Norway.   The  court  is to submit its
recommendation concerning the  Norwegian petition for extradition
within two weeks.  Lofoten Islands  police  have  announced  that
legal  proceedings  in Lofoten County Court are scheduled against
Watson in Norway on Sept.  1, 1997, relating to alleged negligent
navigation and collision with  a  Norwegian coast guard vessel in
the summer of 1994.  Compensation for damages  of  $120,000  with
possible  interest  is  sought  by  the  Norwegian  Navy for this
collision.  On May 28, 1997, the Norwegian Directorate for Nature
Management wrote a letter  to  the CITES Secretariat stating that
Norway will  establish  a  DNA  register  for  whales  to  better
identify  whalemeat  from whales taken under proclaimed Norwegian
quotas, as an addendum to  Norway's  proposal to downlist 2 minke
whale stocks.  On June 9, 1997, a  Dutch  court  decided  not  to
grant Norway's request for extradition of Paul Watson; Watson was
subsequently  released.   On  June  11, 1997, Oslo district court
rejected whalers' arguments  in  a  lawsuit against the Norwegian
government, and ruled that the government had the right  to  stop
whaling  from  1988  to  1992.  [Assoc Press, High North Alliance
News, Dow Jones News, personal communication]

Atlantic  Large  Whale  Protection.    In  late  May  1997,  U.S.
District Court Judge  Douglas  P.  Woodlock  ruled  that  federal
agencies   were   making  sufficient  progress  through  proposed
regulations to  address  citizen  concerns  for better protecting
north Atlantic right whales.  [Assoc Press]
....
End of Part 4/4
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