NOAA Fisheries Issues Recovery Plan for Cook Inlet Beluga Whales
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] - January 4, 2017
Yesterday, NOAA Fisheries released its recovery plan for the Cook Inlet beluga whale, which will guide efforts to recover the species to a point where they can be removed from the federal Endangered Species list. In October 2008, NMFS listed the Cook Inlet beluga whales as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
"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, the agency's Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources.
The best available historical abundance estimate of 1,293 Cook Inlet beluga whales came from an aerial survey conducted in 1979.
Aerial surveys from 1993 to 1998 documented the steep loss in population from 653 whales in 1994 to 347 whales in 1998...
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