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Home > Programs and Policy > Wildlife Conservation > Imperiled Species > Cook Inlet Beluga Whale

Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Management and Policy

The Cook Inlet beluga is already listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act . Through this listing a draft conservation plan was developed, but continuing population declines show that more help is needed for these imperiled whales.

In April 2007, in response to a petition by a coalition of 11 national and local environmental groups, including Defenders, and one individual, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed to list the Cook Inlet beluga as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

Since then, NMFS has been reviewing the status of the Cook Inlet beluga with input from the public, scientists, conservationists, and others. But on April 21, 2008, NMFS failed to meet the deadline for a final decision and formally announced that it would be up to 6 more months before they decide whether to offer Endangered Species Act protection to the Cook Inlet beluga. (See our press release.)

On September 25, 2008 NMFS released survey results showing the Cook Inlet beluga whale population has failed to grow as some industry and government interests had speculated. In response, marine mammal experts and conservation groups have renewed their calls for the Bush and Palin Administrations to support an immediate listing for the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The most recent surveys show the whale’s population now hovers around 375 animals. (See the press release titled, Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Population Flat Lines, from Cook InletKeeper.)

Scientists at the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission – the federal agency mandated by Congress to oversee the National Marine Fisheries Service and to protect the nation’s marine mammal resources – have called on the National Marine Fisheries Service to complete this listing.

Such a listing will require the National Marine Fisheries Service to designate and protect critical habitat for the beluga, and offers the best hope the Cook Inlet beluga will endure for generations to come.