Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Local News


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published March 27, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified March 27, 2008 at 10:02 PM

E-mail article     Print view

3 Makah whale hunters plead guilty

Three of five Makah tribal members participated in an illegal whale hunt last year pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Seattle Times staff reporter

Three of five men who participated in an illegal and poorly executed whale hunt last year pleaded guilty in federal court today to one count of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

In return, prosecutors said they would recommend probation, rather than a jail term.

Frankie Gonzales, Theron Parker and William Secor Sr. pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor and are scheduled to be sentenced June 6 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

The two remaining men, Wayne Johnson and Andrew Noel, refused to take the plea deal.

"I still don't think I did nothing wrong," Johnson said.

He and Noel are scheduled to begin a four-to-five day trial on April 8. Their attorney, Jack Fiander, said he intends to argue that the whale hunt began on tribal land of the Makah Reservation and is not subject to U.S. laws.

The Makah are the only tribe in the country with an explicit treaty right to whale.

The tribe obtained a permit and held a successful, but controversial, hunt in 1999.

A 2002 court decision mandated a waiver from the federal government before the tribe could legally hunt another whale, but the issuance of that waiver has been slow.

Fiander said tribal members have been deeply frustrated by the delays.

The five whalers did not have a permit for the hunt Sept. 8, 2007, when they harpooned and shot a whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Neah Bay, Clallam County.

A tribal report indicated that the gray whale took nearly 10 hours to die because the hunters didn't know what they were doing and shot the animal in the wrong part of its head.

advertising

Federal authorities intervened during the hunt, preventing whalers from euthanizing the whale or from harvesting it after death.

The tribal members were originally indicted on five misdemeanor charges of conspiracy, unlawful taking of a marine mammal and unauthorized whaling, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelley Arnold dismissed the charge stemming from the Whaling Convention Act.

Each man had faced — and Johnson and Noel still face — up to a year in jail and fines of $100,000 if convicted on the federal charges.

Defense attorney Fiander had sought to have the entire case against them dismissed, saying that it was unfair to prosecute Makah whalers for hunting the same gray whales Alaska natives are allowed to hunt by an exemption to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Makah Tribe is in the process of seeking a similar exemption.

In the plea deal between the whalers, the U.S. attorney's office and the Makah Tribe, the tribe agreed to dismiss all charges against the whalers in exchange for their pleading guilty to one federal count of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Animal rights activists were outraged with the plea deal and vowed to continue their efforts to block whale hunting waivers.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com. Information from Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes is included in this report.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

NEW - 11:36 PM
DNA, ballistics tie man to cop killing, police say

NEW - 11:28 PM
Greenwood merchants nervous after 3 more arsons

NEW - 10:56 PM
UW to honor war heroes with Medal of Honor shrine

NEW - 10:39 PM
Nicole Brodeur: Praise pours on the water man

NEW - 10:17 PM
Soldier from Whatcom County is killed in Afghanistan

Advertising

Video

Medal of Honor
Bruce Crandall and John "Bud" Hawk of Kitsap County say no one "wins" the Medal of Honor. The two recipients of the medal explain they weren't trying to be heroes - just do their duty.

Pelosi answers questions at Swedish Medical Center
Pelosi speaks at Swedish Medical Center
"Pistol" Pete Ryan
Mourners gather at KeyArena for slain officer's memorial
Procession for slain SPD officer
Election Night: Approve R-71
Election Night: Reject R-71
Election Night: Joe Mallahan
Election Night: Mike McGinn

Marketplace

nwautos

2009's most fuel-efficient sedansnew
Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising