Meeting between DFO & First Nations Over Luna's Fate Ends Without Plan

Friday, July 9, 2004
VICTORIA, BC - A meeting between the Gold River First Nations, RCMP and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans into the fate of Luna the lone killer whale wrapped up Friday without a plan.

The meeting was part of a relationship-building process, said Fisheries spokeswoman Lara Sloan spokeswoman.

"There were discussions and no decisions," she said, adding another meeting was planned for next week.

The meeting Friday was called after the original plan by Fisheries scientists to capture Luna and truck him south to try to unite him with his family pod was derailed last month by local First Nations.

Canoes filled with aboriginals lured the orca away from a Fisheries boat that was trying to entice Luna into a net pen.

The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation wants its voice heard in the department's plans for Luna, whose attraction to boats in its three solitary years in Nootka Sound has created a safety concern.

First Nations representatives have said they will propose they should become stewards of the whale, which they believe holds the spirit of a chief who died not long before Luna arrived in the area.

For More Information: