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National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office

Beluga Whale Research and Reports

Quick Links: Bering Sea | Bristol Bay | Chukchi Sea | Cook Inlet | Yakutat Bay

map of 5 Alaska beluga whale stocks
Map of five Alaska beluga whale stocks.

The Cook Inlet beluga whale stock may once have numbered as many as 1,300 but declined dramatically during the 1990s. Aerial survey results indicate a decline of 47 percent between 1994 and 1998. In response to this significant decline, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated the Cook Inlet (CI) stock of beluga whales as depleted under the MMPA on May 31, 2000. Surveys from 1999 to 2009 have resulted in point estimates of abundance ranging between 278 and 435 belugas, with a decline of 1.49 percent annually. Harvests have been severely restricted, with a five whales harvested between 1999 and 2005, and no subsistence harvest allowed since then. On October 22, 2008, NMFS listed a Distinct Population Segment of beluga whale found in Cook Inlet as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). On December 2, 2009, NMFS proposed designating critical habitat for the Cook Inlet beluga whale under the ESA. Two areas are proposed, comprising 7,809 square kilometers (3,016 square miles) of marine habitat. Considerable concern remains regarding the recovery of this stock and the habitat necessary to lead to their recovery.

Status of Five Beluga Stocks


Research on Bering Sea Belugas


Research on Bristol Bay Belugas


Research on Eastern Chukchi Sea Belugas

beluga whales in the Chukchi Sea
Beluga whales in the Chukchi Sea. Photo: Laura Morse, NOAA Fisheries, Permit #782-1719-06

Research on Cook Inlet Belugas

Research on Yakutat Bay Belugas


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