[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 143 (Wednesday, October 22, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CONGRESS SHOULD OPPOSE INCREASES IN WHALING

  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, for the last 3 days I have been in Monaco 
at my own expense to try to prevent the renewal of whaling in the 
continental United States.
  From the beginning of this debate over whether the Makah Indian Tribe 
in Washington State should be allowed to resume the practice of hunting 
whales after a 70-year cessation, I have maintained what is being 
described as ``aboriginal subsistence whaling'' is not that at all. It 
will in fact lead to a tragic resumption of commercial whaling and a 
geometric increase in the number of whales killed worldwide.
  Without now addressing whether the Makah Tribe itself is motivated by 
the $1 million value of a gray whale in Japan, other powerful evidence 
exists that indicates that we are on the threshold of a dramatic 
increase in whaling. The official U.S. delegation to the IWC has been 
asking for a change in the definition of aboriginal subsistence 
whaling, the only type of whaling now legal under the International 
Whaling Commission, which the United States has ratified.
  In their shortsighted attempt to legalize the intentions of the Makah 
Tribe, the United States is asking the other nations at the IWC to 
expand the definition of subsistence whaling to permit cultural issues 
to be addressed. Why? Currently aboriginal whaling is solely for the 
physical nutrition of the tribe in question. In other words, they need 
the food. It is obvious the Makah do not need to eat whales to survive.
  What is the problem with expanding the definition into the cultural 
realm? There are villages and people all over the world who have a 
cultural history of whaling but who do not now qualify under the 
current definition of subsistence.
  Saturday at the IWC hearings, the Japanese repeatedly asked the 
United States delegation: What is the difference between the Makah 
request and the desire of four villages on the Taiji Peninsula to 
resume whaling? It is obvious the Japanese are going to use this 
loophole that our own delegation is attempting to create to increase 
their commercial harvest of the whales. Other nations will undoubtedly 
follow suit if the Makah are successful.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow this to happen. The killing of whales 
around the world is on the increase. For this fraudulent cultural 
subsistence to become a legal authorization for further killing would 
be a tragedy. In addition, staff members of other IWC delegations have 
indicated resentment at the tremendous pressure the U.S. delegation is 
putting on other nations to support this fraud.
  However, this pressure may not be changing votes. Observers today 
have informed me that the United States is now attempting to set an 
even more dangerous precedent of lobbying to increase the Russian gray 
whale quota. This new tactic would allow, this under-the-table deal 
would allow the Russians to give the Makah five whales at no loss to 
themselves. More importantly, this backroom style deal would not 
require a vote of the IWC. In other words, when they ran into trouble 
they are trying to go around the system.
  A new whale hunt could then occur without IWC authorization. This is 
dangerous and dishonorable, Mr. Speaker. Frankly the tactics of this 
administration have been an embarrassment. They depicted the 43 Members 
of Congress who signed the letter that I took there that oppose the 
Makah as the only opponents in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, does anyone really believe that 389 Members of this 
House support the killing of whales in the continental United States? 
When pressed, the U.S. delegation could only name two Members of 
Congress who support the Makah hunt.
  Mr. Speaker, they are not representing the best interests of our 
Nation or the sentiments of the vast majority of our people. It is now 
time for Congress to speak in a large, loud, bipartisan voice in 
condemnation of this blatant attempt at the expansion of commercial 
whaling. The vote will be tomorrow, and this is a critical issue.

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