Delay in decision over Cook Inlet beluga whale listing

The Marine Connection fully supports the ongoing appeal to have the Cook Inlet Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and were signatories to a letter sent by Sue Fisher of WDCS to National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in this regard.

We are therefore concerned that The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department has announced it’s to extend the final decision on listing Cook Inlet beluga whales up to six months to give their researchers time to prepare a 2008 population abundance estimate before deciding whether or not to list the population under the Endangered Species Act. Last year, it was estimated the Cook Inlet beluga whale population was 375, the largest since 2001.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service will conduct the annual aerial survey for beluga whales in Cook Inlet in June and provide the 2008 abundance estimate by September of this year. There has been variability in the population estimates for beluga whales over the last 13 years. The estimates in 2006 and 2007 were 302 and 375 belugas respectively. The state of Alaska has interpreted the 2006 and 2007 data as an increasing population trend but scientists believe further population surveys are required to determine if the 2007 increase indicates an upward population trend. Cook Inlet belugas are one of five beluga populations recognised within U.S. waters. The other beluga populations inhabit Bristol Bay, the eastern Bering Sea, the eastern Chukchi Sea, and the Beaufort Sea.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service received approximately 180,000 responses during the public comment period for the proposed listing of Cook Inlet beluga whales. The agency also held public hearings in Anchorage, Homer, and Soldotna, Alaska, and in Silver Spring, Maryland during July and August of 2007. The majority of comments supported listing Cook Inlet beluga whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The Marine Connection sincerely hopes that the delay in deciding upon the status of these whales does not further jeopardise this population of vulnerable whales.