Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
Management and Recovery of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
![beluga whales](beluga_swimming.jpg)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Proposed Endangered Status
- Conservation Plan
- National Environmental Policy Act Analyses
- Long Term Harvest Management Plan
- Interim Harvest Management Plan
PROPOSED ESA LISTING
Proposed Listing
- Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief filed against NMFS by the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale, Alaska Center for the Environment, Center for Biological Diversity, Cook Inlet Keeper, Natural Resources Defense Council, and North Gulf Oceanic Society, June 30, 2008
- 73 FR 21578, April 22, 2008. NMFS extends the date for the final determination to list the beluga whales located in Cook Inlet, Alaska as endangered. A final determination will be made no later than October 20, 2008.
- Center for Biological Diversity 60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue, April 2008
- News Release - April 2008: NOAA’s Fisheries Service Extends Decision on Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Listing.
- 72 FR 30534, June 1, 2007. Extension of public comment period from June 19, 2007, to August 3, 2007.
- 72 FR 19854, April 20, 2007. Proposed endangered status for the Cook Inlet beluga whale. Public comment period through June 19, 2007.
- News Release - April 2007: NOAA Recommends Listing Cook Inlet Belugas Under Endangered Species Act
- 71 FR 44614, August 7, 2006. Notice of a 90–day finding for a petition to list the Cook Inlet beluga whale as an Endangered Species
Public Hearings
- Public Hearing Presentation
- News Release - July 2007: NOAA Fisheries Schedules Fourth Public Hearing on Cook Inlet Belugas
- 72 FR 37697, July 11, 2007. Notice of public hearing to be held on July 27, 2007, in Soldotna, AK. Written comments must be received by August 3, 2007.
- 72 FR 34661, June 25, 2007. Notice of a public hearing to be held in Silver Spring, Maryland on July 31, 2007.
- 72 FR 32605, June 13, 2007. Notice of public hearings on the proposed listing of the Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species. Hearings to be held on July 19, 2007, in Homer and on July 20, 2007, in Anchorage, AK.
- 72 FR 30534, June 1, 2007. Notice of public hearings on proposed Endangered Species Act listing of Cook Inlet beluga whales.
CONSERVATION PLAN
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires the Secretary of Commerce to prepare a conservation plan to promote conservation and recovery for any species or stock designated as depleted. The Conservation Plan for Cook Inlet Belugas reviews and assesses the known and potential factors influencing the Cook Inlet beluga whale stock. The Plan develops and presents a conservation strategy to guide federal and other actions toward the goal of recovering the stock to a population of no fewer than 780 whales. The recovery time frame will depend on the growth rate within this population. NMFS' models indicate recovery will require at least 30 years under the most optimal conditions.
- Draft Conservation Plan for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale, March 16, 2005
- Public Comment: Cook Inlet Keeper and Other Groups/Individuals, June 27, 2005
- 70 FR 30697, May 27, 2005. Notice of comment period reopening for the Draft Conservation Plan for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Comment period through June 27, 2005.
- 70 FR 12853, March 16, 2005. Notice of Draft Conservation Plan for the Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. Comment period through May 16, 2005.
- Public Comment: Cook Inlet Keeper and Other Groups/Individuals, June 27, 2005
- Planning Meeting: May 25, 2004, Anchorage, Alaska
- Public Comments
- Alaska Railroad Corporation, June 16, 2004
- Kenai Peninsula Borough, June 1, 2004
- Resource Development Council, June 1, 2004
- Public Comments
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT ANALYSES
- FINAL Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Subsistence Harvest Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, June 2008
- DRAFT Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, December 2007
- Record of Decision for Subsistence Harvest Management of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales, February 2004
- FINAL Environmental Impact Statement,
July 2003
(Composed of one EIS file: 1.2 MB and Appendix E: 6.8 MB)- DRAFT Environmental Impact Statement, Oct. 2000
- Summary Errata Sheet
- 65 FR 59834, October 6, 2000. Notice of Availability
- 64 FR 66901, November 30, 1999. Notice of Intent
LONG-TERM HARVEST MANAGEMENT PLAN (for 2005 and beyond)
The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) was enacted for the purpose of ensuring the long-term survival of marine mammals by establishing federal responsibility for their conservation and management. The MMPA, section 101(b) contains an exemption from the MMPA's take prohibition that allows Alaska Natives to harvest marine mammals for subsistence use and for purposes of traditional Native handicrafts. Section 101(b) and section 103(d) of the MMPA require that regulations prescribed to limit the harvest of Alaska Natives be made only when the stock in question is designated as depleted pursuant to the MMPA, and following an agency administrative hearing on the record.
Following the depleted determination on May 31, 2000 (FR 65 34590 PDF), NMFS proposed regulations limiting the harvest of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, on October 4, 2000 (65 FR 59164 PDF). The proposed rule's objective is to recover the depleted stock of CI beluga whales to its optimum sustainable population level while allowing the traditional use of CI beluga whales by Alaska Natives to support their cultural, spiritual, social, economic, and nutritional needs.
Management Plan
- Cook Inlet beluga hunt dropped for 2007, April 2007
- Final Subsistence Harvest Management Plan, April 2004
- Draft Subsistence Harvest Management Plan, January 2004
- Responses to the Draft Management Plan:
- Native Village of Tyonek and the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Council, March 2004
- NMFS Response, June 2004
- Native Village of Eklutna, January 2004
- NMFS Response, June 2004
- Marine Mammal Commission, February 2004
- NMFS Response, June 2004
Hearing with Administrative Law Judge and Parties: August 2, 2004
- Administrative Law Judge's decision on long term Cook Inlet beluga harvest regulations. Comment period through March 8, 2006.
NMFS initiated a formal administrative hearing, on-the-record, regarding the proposed regulations on May 31, 2000 (65 FR 34590 PDF). NMFS convened the hearing regarding the proposed regulations before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Parlen L. McKenna, on December 5-8, 2000, in Anchorage, Alaska. On March 29, 2002, ALJ McKenna forwarded to NMFS a recommended decision (Docket Number 000922272-0272-01) based on the discussions at the formal hearing, the administrative record, and written records forwarded to the ALJ.
Based on the recommended decision of the ALJ proceedings and information received during the public comment period on the decision, NMFS published final regulations to limit the harvest of CI beluga whales. These regulations were in effect from 2001-2004. At the ALJ hearing, the parties agreed that NMFS would submit a final recommendation on the long-term harvest regime for 2005 and subsequent years to the judge and all parties no later than March 15, 2004. The long term harvest plan is still in progress.
Testimony: July 15, 2004
- Kaja Brix, National Marine Fisheries Service
- Delice Calcote, Non-treaty Sugpiaq of Afognak Island
- Daniel Goodman, Ph.D., Marine Mammal Commission
- Roderick Hobbs, Ph.D., National Marine Mammal Laboratory
- Dr. Andre Punt, Native Village of Tyonek
Response to Testimony, July 22, 2004
- Daniel Goodman, Ph.D., Marine Mammal Commission
- John Starkey, Esq., Native Village of Tyonek
Long Term Harvest Regime Working Group Meeting Minutes
Statutes on the Taking of Beluga Whales
- Public Law: Sec. 3022 (see pg 111), May 21, 1999
- Public Law 106-553: Sec 627, December 21, 2000
INTERIM HARVEST MANAGEMENT PLAN (through 2004)
- Administrative Hearing, August 2, 2004. Requests to make oral comments due by July 15, 2004.
- Harvest Plan, April 2004
- 69 FR 17973, April 6, 2004. Final interim regulations to govern the taking of Cook Inlet beluga whales by Alaska Natives for subsistence purposes.
- CI Beluga Whale Mortality and 2004 Emergency Provision, December 2003
- Recommended Decision on the Subsistence Harvest, March 2002
- 65 FR 59164, October 4, 2000. Proposed regulations to limit the harvest and use of CI beluga whales.
- Depleted Designation, May 2000