NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2005
Barbara Mahoney
(907) 271-3448
Sheela McLean
(907) 586-7032
NOAA Fisheries Releases New Plan for Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Recovery
NOAA Fisheries officials today released a new plan for conservation of beluga whales in Cook Inlet near Anchorage, Alaska. NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) is an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"The Draft Conservation Plan builds on a decade of applied research by NOAA Fisheries describing the biology, genetics, and habitat of these whales, as well as factors which have led to their decline" explained NOAA Fisheries Administrator for the Alaska Region, Dr. James Balsiger. "We offer several recommendations intended to reduce on-going impacts, improve existing knowledge, and recover the stock. We will also be reviewing the status of Cook Inlet beluga whales to see if they should be listed under the Endangered Species Act."
A conservation plan is required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to assist in the recovery and conservation of any depleted stock of marine mammals, such as the Cook Inlet beluga whales. A depleted stock is considered to be below its optimum sustainable population level.
Recommendations in the Draft Conservation Plan include guidelines on developments in Cook Inlet; identification and possible protections for important beluga whale habitats, including upper Knik Arm; updating the response plan for stranded whales in the upper Inlet; and restrictions on whale watching activities in sensitive feeding and calving habitat.
The public has until May 16, 2005 to review the draft conservation plan and provide comments. The final conservation plan will be released this fall.
NOAA Fisheries will prepare a formal status review to consider whether the Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The agency last reviewed the Cook Inlet stock for listing in 2000. Officials determined at that time that the Cook Inlet stock did not need to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries has acquired new scientific information about the Cook Inlet whales which indicate the stock is not recovering.
The National Marine Mammal Laboratory at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center will summarize scientific information on the Cook Inlet beluga whale population and assess threats to the population by early 2006. This status review, in conjunction with other information, will be used to determine whether a proposed listing of the stock under the Endangered Species Act is warranted.
NOAA Fisheries officials also plan to draft regulations to implement a new, long-term harvest plan for the subsistence harvest of Cook Inlet beluga whales by Alaska Natives. Balsiger explained that the agency has worked cooperatively with the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Council, the Native Village of Tyonek, Cook Inlet Treaty Tribes and others over the last decade to prevent excessive harvests and establish agreements for the cooperative management of these whales.
"The partnership between the Alaska Native community and NOAA Fisheries will require constant communication over the coming years, as the results of annual whale census surveys and natural population fluctuations must be factored into harvest limits," said Balsiger. He said the proposed new regulations, expected mid-summer, will be flexible and will be designed to remain in place indefinitely, until the Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales increases to its optimum sustainable population. Current population estimates stand at 366 beluga whales in Cook Inlet with over 30 thousand beluga whales in Alaskan waters overall.
The draft conservation plan can be read at www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga.htm
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources through scientific research, management, enforcement, and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, please visit our website at www.fakr.noaa.gov