Ocean Sentry
(From fortmilltimes.com) Anchorage, Alaska- The number of beluga whales estimated to be in Cook Inlet off Alaska”s largest city have not increased in the last year, leading critics to reiterate their call for greater protections over the objections of Gov. Sarah Palin. The new estimated count will be considered when deciding if the white whales should be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act – a move first opposed by Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee, last year over concerns that the listing would harm the local economy. Federal scientists have said the Cook Inlet whales have a 26 percent chance of going extinct in the next 100 years. A decision is required by Oct. 20.
There were an estimated 375 beluga whales counted last June in waters near Anchorage, the same number as last year, according to the annual survey by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There were 302 belugas counted in 2006, up from an all-time low of 278 in 2005.
At one time there were perhaps as many as 1,300 Cook Inlet belugas. The decline is believed to be because of overharvesting by Alaska Native subsistence hunters before the hunt was sharply curtailed nearly a decade ago.
Once the survey observations were analyzed, the population estimate was the same as in 2007, government scientists said Thursday.
“What this shows is that the population is not increasing,” Cummings said. “This species should have been protected years ago.”
(By MARY PEMBERTON)
