RADICAL SEA SHEPARD SOCIETY READY TO STOP MAKAH WHALING, 1998-10-01 (photo)

The Sea Shepard Society's 95-foot 'Sirenien', an ex-Coast Guard Cutter, sits anchored off the Makah Marina in Neah Bay, Washington on October 1. The Society hopes to use every possible means to interdict the Makah tribes recently-granted whaling permit by deploying a small armada of ships including a 27-foot diesel submarine painted to look like an Orca whale to scare off the gray whales before the hunt. The Makahs have been granted permission by the International Whaling Commission to hunt up to five gray whales a year. They will hunt the whales via eight-man traditional paddling canoes like the Hummingbird using a harpoon and a .50-caliber rifle to kill the animal. The Makahs cultural heritage included whaling for 2,000 years until the U.S. government stopped the hunting in the 1800s, and they have since pursued the effort to revive the cultural practice especially since the gray whale is no longer on the endangered species list. APB/CM/CLH/