Local News in Brief : Whalewatch to Fete Anderson
Rep. Glenn Anderson (D-Harbor City), author of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, will be honored by supporters of Whalewatch at 9 a.m. Saturday at Catalina Terminal under the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro.
Whalewatch is a program that has sent trained lecturers to schools and provided naturalists aboard Whalewatch boats since 1972. The programs are jointly operated by the Cabrillo Marine Museum and the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Cetacean Society.
Anderson’s Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits the sale, import, export or possession of any marine mammal byproduct, such as whale meat. Since its passage, there has been an estimated 5% annual increase in the gray whale population, which numbers between 1,600 and 1,800, according to John M. Olguin, director emeritus, Cabrillo Marine Museum.
More revenue is generated from observing the gray whale migration, Olguin said, than was previously earned by killing the endangered species.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, after the reception for Anderson, whale watchers who raised $100 in pledges during last Saturday’s Harbor Hunger Walk will participate in a whale-watching trip especially arranged by Olguin. For information, call Olguin at 832-3104.
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