Three U.S. Indian whale hunters plead guilty

By Elaine Porterfield

TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - Three Washington state American Indian men pleaded guilty on Thursday to participating in an illegal hunt of a gray whale, while the hunting group's two leaders refused the plea agreement to protest a whaling ban imposed on their tribe.

Last year, five members of the Makah tribe, frustrated over lack of progress in gaining federal approval to resume a tribal whale hunt, shot a 30-foot (9.1-metre) whale at least 16 times with a high-powered rifle before it died.

Wayne Johnson, a Makah whaling captain, and Andy Noel each face two misdemeanor charges of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act and conspiring to do so. They face up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

"It was apparent from the way the hunt occurred that the three men who entered pleas were less involved," said Jack Fiander, the attorney representing Noel. He plans to argue that the hunt started on tribal land and is not subject to U.S. laws.

The three men pleaded guilty to the unlawful harming of a marine mammal in exchange for a recommendation of no jail time with one year of probation and 100 hours of community service. The three are expected to be sentenced on June 6.

The Makah, a tribe of about 1,200 members in western Washington, has been waiting since 1999 to resume its gray whale hunt after a federal court ruled that the tribe needs to secure a waiver from the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The tribe is waiting on an environmental impact study from the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Makah argue that they secured the right to hunt whales and seals in an 1855 treaty with the U.S. government when it reduced the size of its traditional lands.

All five were expected to accept a plea agreement on Monday, but a deal fell through when U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said in a hearing that the government may seek to curtail the men's hunting rights during their probation.

The defendants said they were not aware of that possibility and rejected the agreement. A U.S. Attorney spokeswoman said Sullivan later decided to leave the decision to the tribe about whether the men had the right to participate in a legal whale hunt during their probation.

The possibility of a loss of hunting rights deepened the group's distrust of the government, Johnson was quoted as saying on Monday in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"I have no choice but to go all the way now," Johnson said. "You can't trust Uncle Sam."

(Writing by Daisuke Wakabayashi)