Further to our previous reports regarding delays in any decision over this issue, we are now delighted to report that The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced that the Cook Inlet beluga whale population near Anchorage is in danger of extinction, and has been listed as an endangered species.

In 2000, NOAA declared the Cook Inlet beluga population depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and despite protections already in place, these specific whales are not recovering. Between 1999 and 2006, Alaska Native hunters took a total of five Cook Inlet beluga whales for subsistence. No beluga whales were harvested in 2007 or 2008. Cook Inlet belugas are one of five populations of belugas recognized within U.S. waters. The other beluga populations inhabit Bristol Bay, the eastern Bering Sea, the eastern Chukchi Sea, and the Beaufort Sea. Of the five stocks of beluga whales in Alaska, the Cook Inlet population is considered to be the most isolated, based on the degree of genetic differentiation and geographic distance between the Cook Inlet population and the four other beluga stocks.

NOAA scientists estimated the Cook Inlet beluga population at 375 for both 2007 and 2008. Listing the Cook Inlet beluga whales means any federal agency that funds, authorises, or carries out new projects or activities that may affect the whales in the area must first consult with NOAA’s Fisheries Service to determine the potential effects on the whales.