Gray whale defenders urge boycott against Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi officials say they will not follow through with the planned project until an environmental assessment has been made

November 7, 1999
Web posted at: 9:59 p.m. EST (0259 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

BAJA, Mexico (CNN) -- Environmentalists are urging a boycott against the Mitsubishi Corp., charging that the company's proposed salt production plant in Baja California could threaten one of the last breeding habitats of the gray whale.

Exportadora de Sal (ESSA), 51 percent owned by the Mexican government and 49 percent by Mitsubishi, has defended its proposal to build the $150 million evaporation plant at Guerrero Negro on the Pacific coast.

Unconvinced, two environmental groups, including the International Fund for Animal Welfare, initiated a media campaign to promote the boycott of the multinational giant, which is involved in business activities as diverse as textiles, metals, financial services and motor vehicles.

VIDEO CNN's Anne McDermott reports on the ongoing battle over the gray whale in Baja California. Windows Media 28K 80K

"Mitsubishi says our whales won't be hurt. Don't buy it," one television commercial urges.

Environmentalists like Roger Payne fear the plant would disrupt the ecological balance of the area, which includes one of few mating and birthing grounds for gray whales.

"At least 34 other scientists agree with me," Payne said this week. "It isn't a good idea."

Environmentalists are urging a boycott of Mitsubishi Corp. because, they say, its proposed salt production plant could threaten the Gray Whales' habitat

Mitsubishi officials say they will not move forward with the project until they have concluded an environmental assessment of the area.

"Nothing will be done unless we are convinced that it can be done in an environmentally friendly way," said Jim Brumm, vice-president of Mitsubishi International.

But environmentalists say the proposed evaporation basins on the San Ignacio Lagoon in Latin America's largest wildlife sanctuary, the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, could threaten gray whales, and endangered species like sea lions, black sea turtles and prong-horned antelopes.

The warm water lagoon is one of only four in the world where gray whales come to mate and calve after migrating 6,200 miles (10,000 kilometers) from the Bering Straits down the Canadian and U.S. Pacific coast each year.

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ESSA already operates a smaller salt works nearby, which ships the bulk of its output to Japan.

The new plant would involve burrowing out 116 square miles (260 square kilometers) -- twice the size of Washington, D.C. It would suck 6,000 gallons (22,700 liters) per second of water out of the lagoon, perhaps affecting local fish hatcheries, critics say.

Correspondent Anne McDermott and Reuters contributed to this report.

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