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NOAA publishes CI beluga whale plan Recovery plan for endangered Cook Inlet whales addresses the threats considered of most concern for the survival of the animals ALAN BAILEY Petroleum News
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has published a final version of its recovery plan for Cook Inlet beluga whales. In 2008 the agency listed the whales as endangered under the terms of the Endangered Species Act. The recovery plan, which focuses on issues that the agency considers to particularly threaten the animals, is designed to guide efforts to recover the species to a point where delisting would become possible. The plan follows the 2011 designation of critical habitat for the whales, with the preparation of both the habitat designation and the recovery plan being statutory requirements associated with the listing of the animals.
“This plan is a roadmap for how NOAA Fisheries and our partners can address threats to Cook Inlet belugas and work together towards recovery,” said Jon Kurland, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant regional administrator for protected resources, when announcing the release of the recovery plan on Jan. 4.
Population decline The Cook Inlet beluga whale forms an isolated sub-population of the whale species, other populations of which live in relative abundance around the Alaska coast. The listing of the Cook Inlet sub-population resulted from an observed sharp decline in the number of the animals living in the inlet. A survey conducted in 1979 indicated the existence of an apparently healthy population of about 1,300 animals. New surveys starting in 1993 showed the population dropping from 653 in 1994 to 347 in 1998. The most recent comprehensive survey, conducted in 2014, indicated a population of some 340. A trend line for the various survey results indicates a population decline rate of about 1.3 percent per year.
Initially, the dramatic drop in the whale population was ascribed to unregulated subsistence hunting. However, after the curtailment of hunting in 1999 the population decline persisted, leaving scientists baffled about the cause of the continuing population loss.
Meanwhile businesses and some other entities operating in the Cook Inlet region worry that the beluga whale listing will result in restrictions on offshore operations, to the detriment of economic activity in the region. Any action requiring, for example, a federal permit for an activity impacting the inlet will trigger a consultation with the Fisheries Service over potential impacts on the beluga whales.
Potential threats Given the lack of a proven explanation for the beluga whale population decline, the Fisheries Service has conducted a comprehensive analysis of potential threats to the whales and then formulated a series of actions to address the more serious of these threats. In general terms, the agency has recognized 10 threats. Three of these threats - a catastrophic event, such as an oil spill or a natural disaster; the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors; and noise - are considered to be of particularly high concern. Four other threats, of medium concern, consist of disease; habitat loss or degradation; reduction in prey; and the unauthorized take of the animals. Three other threats - pollution; predation; and subsistence hunting - are considered to be of low concern.
In essence, the recovery plan involves continuing to monitor the status of the Cook Inlet beluga whale population while also investigating and managing the threats of medium and high concern. The plan also envisages a periodic re-assessment of the threats to the animals and the integration of research findings into the management of the animal protection. The plan also includes a commitment to keep the public informed about the status of the whales, the threats to the animals and the means whereby the public can help in the recovery efforts.
Recovery criteria The plan says that the Fisheries Service will deem the whales as having recovered to the point of delisting if the population estimate for the whales becomes at least 780, with a 95 percent probability of a positive population abundance trend. Delisting will also require 19 specific threats-based criteria to be met. For example, there must be sufficient prey to support the growing population, and there must be a scientific analysis that indicates that human activities will not trigger another population decline.
A down listing from endangered to threatened has less stringent criteria.
The plan includes a five-year schedule of specific activities for plan implementation. In addition to the Fisheries Service, various activities are expected to involve a number of other organizations, including the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the University of Alaska and Alaska Pacific University. The Fisheries Service says that it could take as long as 50 years to complete the whale recovery at an estimated cost of $76.8 million.
A team of Cook Inlet stakeholders and scientists participated in the preparation of an initial draft version of the plan, with the Fisheries Service then modifying this version before publishing the draft for public comment. The final version of the plan which has now been issued has taken into account the public comments.
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