Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
by the national Canadian newspaper, Globe and Mail , 2 days into the stand-off
reported:
Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials could only stand by and watch as
their quarry swam out toward the sea. The unexpected development threw a
wrench into a highly publicized and costly plan to capture the whale and truck
it 350 kilometers down the coast to a bay near Victoria.
(emphasis mine, Armstrong 2005)
It was not immediately evident, however, that the First Nation would succeed in
its efforts to stop the DFO plan. In an article written about the incident,
Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation member Tyee Ha'wilth Mike Maquinna noted
their potentially vulnerable position:
“The concern we have is that DFO is trying to escalate this into a conflict
. . . All we are doing is the same thing we've been doing here for thousands
of years; paddling our canoes and singing songs. We have a very special
connection with Tsu-xiit and we're paddling in support of him,” he said.
“We're trying to stay out of harm's way, but DFO seems committed to turn
this into a battle, even though we've made it clear we don't want that. They
have bulletproof vests, guns, and high-powered vessels. We're just paddlers
in traditional canoes.”
(Wiwchar, 2004)
The Tug-of-Whale ensued. Tsu-xiit followed the canoes down the Nootka Sound
and then, without notice, would dash off to follow the DFO boat. On the seventh
day, the DFO boat successfully led Tsu-xiit into the holding pen. Although it seemed
that the DFO had captured Luna, the gate was never closed and, after more than
10 dramatic minutes, Tsu-xiit swam out of the pen and away with the
Mowachaht/Muchalaht paddlers. After this folly, 2 days later, the DFO called off
the effort to relocate Luna. However, the DFO maintained the strict position that
humans could not interact with Luna and they would prosecute individuals who
came within 100 meters of the whale, citing the Marine Mammals Regulations of
the Fisheries Act (DFO, 2013). In both Canada and the United States, it is a crime
to disturb marine mammals in the wild, and in Canada the offence carries a fine
as high as $100,000.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation was in a difficult position. Although
they had “won” the battle to keep Tsu-xiit in his traditional waters (which they
did for almost 3 years), the act of keeping Tsu-xiit out of harm's way (particularly
away from boats and float planes) required ongoing human intervention. This
intervention, however, was deemed illegal under the federal Fisheries Act. Thus,
the boundaries in this case continued to grow - jurisdictional boundaries,
human-animal boundaries, and legal boundaries of contact.
In order for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation to keep Luna out of harm's
way, they were required to work within the system set by the State. To do so,
they took measures to interact “legally” with Tsu-xiit . They applied for, and
 
 
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