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The four-count indictment accuses Black of twice feeding killer whales in the marine sanctuary -- once in 2004 and again in 2005.
The indictment also alleges she altered a video showing possible illegal contact with an endangered humpback whale during a whale-watching trip in October 2005, then lied to investigators about doing so.
Black’s tours and research aboard her company’s whale-watching vessels -- the 70-foot Sea Wolf II and the 55-foot Pt. Sur Clipper -- have been featured extensively in local media and appeared on the "Today" show and the "CBS Evening News."
Black’s attorney, Lawrence Biegel, said she was gathering scientific data and broke no laws when she filmed the behavior of killer whales feeding off free-floating pieces of blubber from a gray whale calf.
Black and several assistants, he said, cut a hole in the blubber and used a rope to secure it close to her 22-foot inflatable research dinghy so she could film killer whales with an underwater camera as they approached to eat it.
Calling the indictment “wholly unjustified” and based on a misunderstanding of her techniques and methods, Biegel said she acted within the boundaries of a whale-research permit issued by the federal government and presented the footage to other researchers at a conference in Norway.
Marine biologist indicted for allegedly feeding killer whales - latimes.com
Article Source: The L.A. Times
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Here is a video taken by Nancy Black in Monterey Bay
She is showing footage of Blue Whales and Krill abundance in the bay.
- 1 vote
#1 - Thu Jan 5, 2012 9:49 PM ESTAn inditment doesn't mean guilt, it's the material presented to the grand jury and how it's presented. A lot of facts can be left out or not discussed in a grand jury room. IMO sounds like she's doing a better job then they are. :)
- 2 votes
Interesting Video of the whales, not sure what to think about the charges though. If she is a legit researcher and not a tour operator then she's probably in the right, based on that last paragraph.
- 2 votes
And there's the Five years to bring to a Grand Jury...sounds fishy to me, (no pun intended)
- 1 vote
The law is the law.
They crucify fishermen for the tiniest infractions like paper work' i.e The Yellow tail Letter?
$10,000 dollar fine for not having it, even though it was free?
No fine at all if the vessel hailed from New Bedford, though, only Gloucester boats!
The law is the law. Even for whale watch biologists.
- 1 vote
She's within the guidelines of the permit issued by the Fed Gov, as she stated. I would think that would afford her a lot of leeway for research purposes.
- 3 votes
#2 - Thu Jan 5, 2012 11:44 PM ESTWith an active permit to do whale research and a life time of good work in her corner I can't believe the government is going to pursue this. She doesn't seem like the kind of person that whales need protection from. I think that some of our marine mammal regulations are enforced in a manner that needlessly punishes people that mean no harm. Punishing people involved in academic research that can promote better understanding of the issues that whales face is definitely not what the people who wrote these laws intended.
- 3 votes
#3 - Fri Jan 6, 2012 1:46 AM ESTYhea really.......she feeds em...............and japan harpoons em. Whales, that is! Our government harpoons her and then feeds Japan?????
- 2 votes
#4 - Sat Jan 7, 2012 5:36 PM ESTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
