Makah tribe seeks U.S. whaling rights

SEATTLE, June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. officials say the Makah Indian Tribe is seeking federal permission to continue limited hunting of eastern North Pacific gray whales.

Whaling is a Makah tradition dating back at least 1,500 years. The tribal right of whaling was secured by the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay but Makah whaling was halted in the 1920s after the marine mammals' population was severely reduced by commercial whaling, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement.

The whales, which are now believed to number more than 20,000, were removed from the Endangered Species list by NOAA Fisheries Service in 1994.

A final public hearing on the issue is scheduled for Thursday morning in Silver Springs, Md., the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said.