An Interpretation of Disagreement Between Johnson and Watson
             Whaling is an issue that has been attracted with numerous debates and arguments. For the Makah Indian Tribe, whaling is an act of culture need and has been practiced for more than two thousand years. In the article, The Makah Manifesto, Keith A. Johnson, president of the Makah Whaling Commission, express the facts and cultural values why his people should be allow to whale freely. In opposition, The Sea Shehpards, a conservation group, is doing everything they can to stop humans from whaling in effort to save the gray whales from potential extinction. In response to Johnson's article, founder and president of the Sea Shephard Conservation Society, Paul Watson wrote: Where is the Whales' Manifesto? In which Watson states his values and facts why the Makah Tribe should not be allow to whale for any reason. The differences in their values and facts have stirred up a disagreement between the two groups.
             A difference of the interpretations of facts that both authors present in their articles has to do with the population of the gray whales, and whether or not this should still be consider a conservation issue. Scarcity had prevented the Makah tribe from whaling since the 1920's, but now that the gray whales have been taken off the endangered species list, their abundance makes it possible to resume the tribe's ancient practice. However, the Sea Shepards believes that whaling may still cause a threat to the environment. Johnson's article states that "the gray-whale population is currently at an all-time high of around 22,000," and "the population continues to increase at a rate of 2.5 percent per year" ( ). In contrast, Watson sees whaling as a global conservation issue and claims that no human should be able to hunt the whales down for any reason. Johnson claims that the number of gray whales "may be nearing the...