[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          WHALE-WATCHING INDUSTRY ON THE WEST COAST ENDANGERED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington [Mr. Metcalf] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, in the last few years a multi-million 
dollar tourist industry has been carefully built up in California, 
Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. It is whale-watching. It has 
become a multimillion dollar industry in the last few years, and in 
fact, just to show Members how much, I stopped at a little hotel 
several miles from the water out in Washington State and walked over to 
their rack. I picked up all these brochures, and all of these are ones 
that deal with whale-watching, just to show the Members what an 
industry it is.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a wonderful industry. Its numerous small 
entrepreneurs take individuals or groups out onto the Puget Sound or 
Straits of Juan de Fuca or the Georgia Straits, or actually outside 
into the Pacific Ocean at certain times.
  There are only two species of whales that are targeted near the coast 
now, the gray whales and the orcas. Over the years, the last 3 or 4 or 
5 years, they have become used to boats. It is easy to get close to 
them. They do not mind the boats there. They are not tame, but they are 
very tolerant. The people get a wonderful experience to go out and see 
these huge animals out there in their native state, and they are either 
moving or lolling, but it is a time that you can really feel close to 
something that has not been available to people in this way. Sometimes 
the animals will come up and even rub against the boats.
  Mr. Speaker, this is about to change dramatically. This tourist 
industry is about to be put in jeopardy by the action of the U.S. 
Government in recommending to the International Whaling Commission. 
When they meet in the next few weeks, they will recommend that one 
tribe in Washington State and several tribes in British Columbia be 
allowed to kill a limited number of whales.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to look at this the way it really is. These are 
very intelligent animals. They are very intelligent animals. They are 
tolerant today, but when any killing takes place and there is blood in 
the water and a whale thrashing around, let me tell the Members, those 
animals are gone. They will not let another boat near them. They will 
not let you come within a mile, as soon as that starts.
  It is today an excellent tourist industry. It is nonpolluting, it is 
very positive, it is a great experience. People plan to now begin 
killing whales again, and they do not plan to eat these whales; this is 
not an historic use of the whales. It happens that gray whales are 
worth about $1 million each in Japan.
  There is another problem. In addition to the possible devastation of 
an industry that employs a lot of people, and as I say, it is a great 
industry, Japan and Norway have always wanted to harvest whales and 
have continued to do a certain amount of harvest. We have opposed that. 
We have said no, we really are not ready to go back to commercial 
whaling.
  If we now start to allow some of our people to harvest whales, how 
then do we talk to the Japanese, to Japan and Norway, and say, well, it 
is okay for ours, but they will say, we have a historic right that goes 
back thousands and thousands of years.
  This is something we must not allow to happen. I hope and I plan to 
work with some other Members to bring a measure before the House to 
take some action that can be effective in solving this problem before 
the International Whaling Commission meets.

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