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New gray whale study could affect Makah tribe

The Columbian
Published: July 20, 2010, 12:00am

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — A new study by two Canadian scientists suggests that about 200 gray whales that feed during summer in areas including the Washington state coast have “a separate genetic identity” from the rest of the gray whale population.

The study could result in restrictions on where the Makah tribe can hunt for gray whales if the hunt’s impact is considered in relation to 200 whales, rather than the approximately 20,000 gray whales in the eastern Pacific.

Now Donna Darm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the study has prompted a similar study of the gray whale population by her agency.

Since the mid-1990s, when the gray whale was removed from the endangered species list, the Makah have asserted a treaty right to hunt whales. They killed one whale in a legal hunt in 1999. Five whalers killed a whale without permission in 2007.

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Information from: Peninsula Daily News, http://www.peninsuladailynews.com

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