Beluga Whales In Cook Inlet At High Risk Of Extinction

January 9th, 2007

Juneau, Alaska - A new federal study says beluga whales in the Cook Inlet of Alaska are at considerable risk of going extinct.

The study says there is a 26% chance the estimated 302 beluga whales in the inlet will be extinct in 100 years.

From NOAA Press Release: NOAA Fisheries Service biologists have analyzed data from a recent survey of beluga whales in Cook Inlet near Anchorage, Alaska. The latest abundance estimate is 302 individual beluga whales in Cook Inlet.

"Although this estimate is slightly higher than the 2005 estimate of 278 whales, it is still well below the average of 370 whales for the years 1999 to 2004," explained Alaska Fisheries Science Center Administrator Doug DeMaster. "If you step back to look at the bigger picture, the annual estimates from 1994 to 2006 show an average decline of 5.6 percent per year."

NOAA Fisheries Service currently is comparing available data on the Cook Inlet belugas with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act to determine whether the population meets the Endangered Species Act listing criteria for either endangered or threatened. The finding is expected by April, 2007.

A recently completed status review of the Cook Inlet belugas provides a summary of the best available science to aid NOAA Fisheries Service policymakers with decisions about the status of the Cook Inlet beluga whale population and possible listing under the Endangered Species Act. The review is at: www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/ProcRpt/PR%202006-16.pdf.

NOAA Fisheries Service researchers fly systematic annual surveys in early June in order to take advantage of typically good weather at a time when belugas concentrate near river mouths during fish migrations, especially near the Susitna and Little Susitna rivers, Knik Arm and Chickaloon Bay.

Abundance estimates are calculated from a careful examination of video taken during aerial passes over groups of belugas. The 2006 abundance estimate of 302 belugas has a 95 percent confidence interval that the true population of whales is between 222 and 410.

The Cook Inlet beluga population declined by nearly 50 percent between 1994 and 1999, and NOAA Fisheries Service declared the population to be depleted in 2000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Alaska natives hunt beluga whales for subsistence. NOAA Fisheries Service has worked with the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Council, the Native Village of Tyonek, Cook Inlet Treaty Tribes and others over the last decade to manage subsistence harvests and establish agreements for the cooperative management of the whales.

Beginning in 1999, federal laws and voluntary efforts by the beluga hunters have resulted in a limited harvest. Between 1999 and 2006 five beluga whales were taken for subsistence in Cook Inlet. From 1999 to 2006 annual estimates show an average decline of 4.1 percent per year. The current abundance estimate and the observed population decline will receive careful consideration in determining future harvests.

The Cook Inlet beluga population is one of five beluga populations (Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay, eastern Bering Sea, eastern Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea) recognized within U.S. waters.

For more information, visit: www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga.htm