Public comment sought on proposed Makah whale hunt

SEATTLE — Two public meetings will be held in late April about the Makah Tribe’s request to resume hunting gray whales off Washington’s coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will hold the meetings in Seattle on April 27 and in Port Angeles on April 29. Public comment will be taken for a draft environmental impact statement being done to evaluate the proposed hunts.

Whaling is a centuries-old tradition for the tribe at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. The Makah are guaranteed whaling rights under their 1855 treaty with the federal government. The tribe sought to resume whaling after gray whales were removed from the federal endangered species list in 1994.

The Makah killed a 30-foot gray whale during a hunt in 1999, a killing that was decried by animal welfare and other groups.