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| Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, Alaska 99802-1668 |
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CONTACT: Carol Tocco, Public Affairs NMFS (907) 586-7032 Barbara Mahoney (907)271-5006 |
NMFS 99-12-AKR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: May 24, 1999 |
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ALASKA NATIVE HUNTER EFFORTS AND NEW LEGISLATION INCREASES PROTECTION OF COOK INLET BELUGA WHALES NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service officials announced that two recent actions will contribute significantly toward the protection of the Cook Inlet beluga whale population in Alaskan waters. Threat of over-harvest through Native subsistence use has been greatly reduced by a voluntary stand-down from hunting by hunters affiliated with the Alaska Native Marine Mammal Hunter's Committee and the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Commission, and through legislation introduced by Senator Ted Stevens and signed into law by President Clinton on Friday, May 21.The Stevens amendment prohibits the taking of Cook Inlet beluga whales for Native subsistence use unless provided for within a co-management agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and affected Alaska Native organizations. NMFS and the Cook Inlet Marine Mammal Commission (CIMMC), representing Upper Cook Inlet area tribal governments, are nearing completion of an agreement to co-manage the subsistence harvest by area tribes in 1999 and develop joint research and conservation projects. Prior to passage of this legislation, however, there would have been no legal authority to back up provisions of the agreement. "The Stevens amendment provides the only real mechanism this year to halt the harvest of this depleted stock of marine mammals," said Steven Pennoyer, Alaska Regional Administrator for NMFS. "This, in combination with efforts by the Alaskan natives and NMFS, will allow the time needed during the upcoming year for the co-management process to work." Hunters affiliated with the Alaska Native Marine Mammal Hunter's Committee (ANMMHC) announced they would voluntarily stand-down from harvesting Cook Inlet beluga whales this summer, but NMFS and the Native organizations were concerned that hunters unaffiliated with either ANMMHC or CIMMC could continue to hunt unregulated contrary to the efforts of these organizations. The Cook Inlet stock of beluga whales has declined drastically in recent years. Once estimated to exceed 1,000 whales, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) currently estimates the population at 347. The Cook Inlet stock has been declining at 15 percent per year since 1994. Native subsistence harvests account for the largest human-caused removals from this stock. The National Marine Fisheries Service is an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NMFS conducts scientific research and service in support of protected species and fisheries management, enforcement, and habitat conservation programs.
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