Ahousaht feasts on whale

Page 9

A young grey whale that apparently drowned after becoming entangled in a net pond was towed to Ahousaht, B.C. on March 9. A traditional prayer chant was performed to honor the life of the whale and seven Makah from Neah Bay, Wash. were on hand to teach the community how to butcher the whale. The Makah made international headlines last year for reviving their tradition of harveting whale, despite environmentalists' anti-whaling activities designed to interupt their hunt.

The grey whale was the first to be taken ashore at Ahousaht for consumption since 1963. The community came out in full force to witness the historic event.

Young and old chewed thin slices of raw whale blubber as quickly as it was being cut off the carcass.

Ahousaht Fisheries personnel found the three-year-old whale entangled in the net of a roe-on-kelp pond. Marion Campbell, Ahousaht fisheries manager, said staff went to the site in Sydney Inlet early in the morning of March 8 and found nothing unusual. When they returned with two biologists shortly after noon, they discovered the destroyed pond and the entangled whale. Two men donning diving gear went to cut the whale free, but by then, it was too late.

The destroyed pond was one of two ponds that Ahousaht is using to acquire herring roe-on-kelp. The herring and some of the kelp were released from the pond when the net was torn. The herring in the adjacent pond stopped spawning because of the commotion caused when the whale tried to free itself.

Ahousaht fisheries contacted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and were granted permission to repair and restock the herring ponds. Ahousaht would have lost more than half their roe-on-kelp had the nets left the water. DFO regulations state the ponds must remain in place for about three weeks after the spawn in order to allow the eggs to hatch.

DFO was made aware that the whale carcass would be towed to Ahousaht for consumption. The whale reached the shore just before noon on March 9. It would not be dissected until 4:00 p.m. when the tide went out.

It took considerable effort to turn the carcass over on to its belly. A heavy-duty truck with tow rope succeeded where manpower and ropes failed. The Makah quickly got to work after the prayer ceremonies.

The Makah asked that their names not be published because of fear of similar threats and attacks they endured during their whale hunt almost a year ago.

The first part of the whale that was removed was the 'saddle' portion of blubber. In keeping with tradition, this most coveted portion was given to James Swan in whose traditional territory the whale was discovered.

It took more than two hours to remove most of the blubber from the 31-foot-long whale. During the evening and throughout the night, community members trekked between the beach and their homes toting shares of the whale meat and blubber. The work continued until the next morning.

James Swan said the non-consumable portions of the whale were buried on the beach.