The Makah Indian Tribe is seeking to continue limited treaty-right hunting of eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). The right of whaling at usual and accustomed grounds is a Makah tradition secured by the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay. Makah whaling dates back at least 1,500 years, but the tribe halted it in the 1920s because the eastern North Pacific gray whale population was severely reduced by commercial whaling.

With international and national legal protections, the eastern North Pacific gray whale distinct population segment recovered. NOAA Fisheries removed the whales from the Endangered Species list in 1994. The Makah hunted one eastern north Pacific gray whale in 1999, but have since been prevented from exercising treaty hunting rights by litigation.

The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in 2004 that the Makah, to pursue any treaty rights for whaling, must comply with the process prescribed in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) for authorizing take of marine mammals otherwise prohibited by a moratorium. (Take means to or attempt to, harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.) On Feb. 14, 2005, we received a request from the Makah for a limited waiver of the MMPA’s take moratorium, including issuance of regulations and any necessary permits.

We're conducting a full evaluation of the tribe’s MMPA waiver request. The first step in that evaluation is to develop a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (see NEPA Process section). Please check our website for updates as we continue to evaluate the Makah’s MMPA waiver request.

NOAA Fisheries continues to review the Makah Tribe's proposal to hunt eastern north Pacific gray whales. Of particular relevance to the Tribe's request is recent information on stock structure. There is also recent information on movements of western gray whales from the Okhotsk Sea to the eastern north Pacific based on satellite tagging, photo-identification and genetic studies (including an Apr. 25, 2008, photo match taken in the Barkley Sound area off the west side of Vancouver Island), which may also be relevant to the Tribe's proposal. Agency managers and scientists are considering both of these findings, and they'll be discussed in detail during the 2011 meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Some of the studies under IWC review include, for example:

• Population status of the eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales in 2009 (Punt and Wade 2010)
• Abundance and population structure of gray whales in the Pacific Northwest from 1998-2008 (Calambokidis et al. 2010)
• Genetic analyses of gray whales utilizing feeding grounds in the Eastern North Pacific (Lang et al. 2011)

See links to these studies and more information on the IWC Website at:
http://www.iwcoffice.org/sci_com/workshops/AWMP2workshop.htm and
http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/sci_com/SC62docs/SC-62-AWMP2.pdf

See information on the movements of western gray whales at:
http://www.iucn.org/wgwap/?7015/Western-gray-whale-makes-unexpected-journey

May 9, 2008: Draft EIS Released, Public Comments Requested

We released a draft EIS of the Makah Tribe’s request to hunt eastern North Pacific gray whales. The DEIS provides an important opportunity for the public to formally comment on the tribe's proposal and the various alternatives. Public comments were due Aug. 15, 2008. We'll address public comments in the final version of the EIS. These comments, in conjunction with considerations described in the DEIS, will provide key information to assist us with our final decision on the tribe's request.