NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
July 14, 2000
Carol Tocco, Public Affairs NMFS
(907) 586-7032
NATIVE HARVEST OF BELUGA WHALES ALLOWED BY AGREEMENT
NOAA Fisheries Signs Agreement Authorizing Traditional Native Harvest of One Cook Inlet Beluga Whale
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service today announced reaching agreement with the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Council to cooperatively manage the Cook Inlet stock of beluga whale for the year 2000. Under this agreement, one Cook Inlet beluga whale can be harvested by the Native Village of Tyonek. The population of Cook Inlet beluga whales has declined in recent years, and this agreement will play an important role in recovering this stock of beluga whales to a level of abundance that would no longer be considered depleted.
"The agreement would allow a limited harvest of beluga whales to continue in order to provide for customary and traditional use," said Jim Balsiger, Alaska Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. "At the same time, the lower harvest rate will allow the stock to recover."
This type of agreement is authorized by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and provides a means by which Alaskan Natives and the Federal government may jointly participate in the management of Alaska's marine mammals. NOAA Fisheries has similar agreements for the management of bowhead whales, Bering Sea beluga whales, and harbor seals.
Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Council will allocate the 2000 quota of one beluga whale to the Native Village of Tyonek, a native community which has harvested from this stock for generations. An Environmental Assessment of this action has been prepared and is available at: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga/belugaEA2000final.pdf. NOAA Fisheries managers will continue working with the Alaska Native community to reach an agreement on a long-term plan to recover the whales while meeting the traditional needs of the local Native community.
Cook Inlet beluga whales constitute a small, genetically-isolated stock found in the south-central region of Alaska. Following a status review showing that the number of whales in this population declined from an estimate of 653 in 1994 to 347 in 1998, NOAA Fisheries designated this population of whales as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in June 2000. Additional information on beluga whales can be viewed at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga.htm.