GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS PARTICIPATE IN THE SLAUGHTER OF AN ENDANGERED BOWHEAD WHALE - Update

Alleged Illegal Participation by Greenpeace Activists in a "Take" Now Under Investigation By National Marine Fisheries Service

Nome, Alaska:
In a meeting today with Bering Straight Record Managing Editor Mark Gillespie and reporter Nicole Braem, Sea Shepherd Pacific Northwest Coordinator Michael Kundu discovered that a Bowhead whale taken by the Inupiat people on August 8, 1997 cannot be confirmed as having been taken by harpoon and rifle fire. The whale was however an official "take" by the Inupiat people of St. Lawrence Island. It was previously believed that the whale was harpooned and shot, but since the whale has been butchered, the forensic evidence is no longer available to confirm the cause of death. Today Sea Shepherd presented the information to National Marine Fisheries Service and an official investigation has been launched by NMFS agents. It is illegal for non-natives to participate in any step of an IWC-sanctioned whale hunt. "Whether the whale was killed by a man and a gun or a heart attack-Greenpeace had no legal right to illegally assist in the "take" of this critically-endangered species." Commented Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has officially requested an investigation by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) into this incident. It is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act to assist with a "take" of a Bowhead whale.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is charging that on August 8, 1997, crewmembers of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise assisted the Inupiat in towing a Bowhead whale to shore utilizing two Greenpeace inflatable boats. This incident was observed by a reporter for the Bering Straight Record and reported in The Arctic Sounder, the Bering Straight Record and the Canadian newspaper Nunatsiaq News.

For further info:
Contact Lisa Distefano or Paul Watson.
Tel: 310-301-7325.
Fax: 310-574-3161.
E-Mail: SeaShepherd@SeaShepherd.org
Canada: 604-688-7325.
Web Site: www.SeaShepherd.org

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