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National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office

Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

Management and Recovery of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales

Cook Inlet beluga whale with calf
Cook Inlet beluga whale with calf.
Photo: Chris Garner, U.S. Army, Ft. Richardson.

The Cook Inlet beluga whale stock may once have numbered as many as 1,300 but declined dramatically during the 1990s. Aerial survey results indicate a decline of 47 percent between 1994 and 1998. In response to this significant decline, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated the Cook Inlet (CI) stock of beluga whales as depleted under the MMPA on May 31, 2000. Surveys from 1999 to 2009 have resulted in point estimates of abundance ranging between 278 and 435 belugas, with a decline of 1.49 percent annually. Harvests have been severely restricted, with a five whales harvested between 1999 and 2005, and no subsistence harvest allowed since then. On October 22, 2008, NMFS listed a Distinct Population Segment of beluga whale found in Cook Inlet as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). On December 2, 2009, NMFS proposed designating critical habitat for the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the ESA. Two areas are proposed, comprising 7,809 square kilometers (3,016 square miles) of marine habitat. Considerable concern remains regarding the recovery of this stock and the habitat necessary to lead to their recovery.



COOK INLET BELUGA CRITICAL HABITAT

Cook Inlet beluga whale critical habitat April 2011
Map of Cook Inlet beluga whale critical habitat. Click on map to view larger version.

COOK INLET BELUGA ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA) LISTING

More Information


Recovery Plan


ESA Listing


Proposed Listing


Public Hearings

COOK INLET BELUGA 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.


NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT ANALYSES


COOK INLET BELUGA 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, (FR 65 3459, May 31, 2000), NMFS proposed regulations limiting the harvest of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, (65 FR 59164, October 4, 2000). On April 6, 2004, NMFS published interim harvest regulations (69 FR 17973) to govern the taking of Cook Inlet beluga whales by Alaska Natives for subsistence purposes from 2001-2004. NMFS published final harvest regulations (73 FR 60976, October 15, 2008), to implement a long-term plan to manage subsistence harvests of Cook Inlet belugas, from 2008 until recovery. The purpose of these regulations is to promote recovery of this depleted beluga whale stock, while allowing for a limited subsistence harvest by Alaska Natives when consistent with achieving the recovery goals of the MMPA.

Management Plan


Hearing with Administrative Law Judge and Parties: August 2, 2004

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


Response to Testimony, July 22, 2004


Long Term Harvest Regime Working Group Meeting Minutes


Statutes on the Taking of Beluga Whales


INTERIM HARVEST MANAGEMENT PLAN (through 2004)


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