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IWMC
World Conservation Trust |
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IWMC Conservationist of
the Month:
Andreas Chavez
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BA
Conservationist
speaks for People
and the Environment |
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IWMC proudly announces that this month's Conservationist
Award goes to honor Andreas Chavez, a wildlife biologist in Seattle,
Washington. Mr. Chavez has spoken out in the Seattle Times (Saturday, April 20)
in a candid and rational manner in objection to the rhetoric of Paul Watson,
Sea Shepherd.
His piece, "Sea Shepherd Gone Astray" is expressive of the dismay
that many conservationists feel about the constant attacks that Watson launches
against those who want to use renewable resources in a safe and sustainable
manner. Mr. Chavez expresses the truth, that the Makah have never harmed whales
in their traditional hunting behavior, and that they deserve respect for
wishing to renew their cultural tradition of sharing the products of the gray
whale. He correctly observes that it is not the instruments of the hunt that
count, but the fact that it is conducted with the same goals of celebrating the
Makah relationship with gray whales, and of sharing with the entire community,
the gift of the gray whale when it has presented itself and has been delivered
to shore.
We applaud Mr. Chavez and we know that his courageous and intelligent
critiques of diatribes such as Watson's will continue. Congratulations, Andreas
Chavez, IWMC Conservationist of the Month for April, 2002. 
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A
Conservation Plus:
Aiming a Lance at Domestic Terrorism
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President Bush has apparently directed the Department of
Justice to investigate that category of domestic terrorism which has targeted
conservation, the fur industry, and perhaps, mainstream agriculture. A good
start in this effort has been the April 6 Federal Grand Jury subpoena in
Seattle of Allison Lance Watson, current wife of notorious Paul Watson, Sea
Shepherd.
It seems that Ms. Lance Watson has been an activist for some time, which
perhaps explains why she and Paul may be meant for each other. Presumably, her
connections are impressive, and the Grand Jury wants to know what she knows.
The Sea Shepherds may be understandably nervous about all this. As usual,
because they have such a miniscule following, their funds are low, and
predictably, Paul Watson is asking for donations to assist her in retaining an
attorney as she faces grand jury questioning.
Watson himself is blowing off about how the Bush administration is
"reviving McCarthyism" in targeting domestic animal rights and
"environmental" activism. This may be an indication that the eco-hero
is particularly worried about his future, as his lurid past in the business of
piracy and menacing of the Makah and others may be haunting his sleep.
IWMC wishes the Federal Grand Jury in Seattle, and the FBI, all the best as
they make every effort to root out those who plan harm to American agriculture,
science and business in the name of "saving the planet". Happy Earth
Day, Allison Lance Watson.
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May
caviar of Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) be present in sturgeon caviar
supplied from the Volga River?
by V.P. Ivanov, S.I. Nikonorov, Yu. N. Perevaryukha
Caspian Fisheries Research Institute, Russia
Interdepartmental Ichthyological Commission, Russia
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Excerpt from the full text
...The suggestion that caviar of Siberian sturgeon was present in Russian
sturgeon caviar from Russia which was based on the analysis of two small
segments of mitochondrial DNA is thought to be the result of
unrepresentativity of the method applied for its identification and supports
the hypothesis of phylogenetic relationship between Siberian and Russian
sturgeons that have several heterogeneous biological groups...
Please
click here to read the full text of this article
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