NEAH BAY — As gray whales begin their migration past the Washington coast, some Makah families are preparing for a whale hunt.
“We have three families that are in various stages of readiness,” Makah Whaling Commission President Keith Johnson said Wednesday.
The hunt may begin as soon as the second week in April, Johnson said.
The unidentified families are currently scouting for whales off Cape Flattery on the Makah reservation, but Johnson said it is still too early to spot the animals.
The Makah have not hunted a whale since spring 2000, when a federal judge suspended whaling and ordered a new environmental assessment of migratory gray whale populations.
A new management plan released last year by the National Marine Fisheries Service allows the tribe to resume whaling year-round in both the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean.
Whalers are anticipating this year’s hunt, Johnson said.
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