State Responds to Listing of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales as Endangered
Press Release
State Responds to Listing of Cook Inlet Beluga Whales as Endangered
Governor Sarah Palin today reacted to the decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to list beluga whales in Cook Inlet as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).
"The State of Alaska has had serious concerns about the low population of belugas in Cook Inlet for many years", Governor Palin said. "However, we believe that this endangered listing is premature."
The State supported NOAA's 2000 decision to designate the Cook Inlet beluga population "depleted" under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This designation, along with federal legislation passed in 1999, ended the high levels of subsistence hunting of Cook Inlet belugas that had been the chief cause of the severe decline in their population during the 1990s.
"We would have preferred that NOAA delay this endangered listing decision for a few years to get more population counts, and determine whether the cutback in hunting is working to help the beluga population recover," said Denby Lloyd, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Our analysis of NOAA's data indicates that the population has been growing steadily in the last few years, just as studies had predicted." After high levels of subsistence harvest ended in 2000, studies predicted that Cook Inlet belugas would begin to climb again in 2004. Since 2004, NOAA's counts show an increase of more than 30% in the population, from 278 to 375.
"Of course, whenever you have a population of marine mammals that is this low, it is a cause for serious concern," Lloyd said. "We just aren't sure that an endangered listing, and all the legal requirements it brings with it, is necessary to assure the health of this population at this time." Lloyd said he looks forward to reviewing the data NOAA and others gather in the coming years to determine how best to help Cook Inlet belugas recover.
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