Photo courtesy of Marlene Buccione
A gray juvenile beluga whale rises out of the water as two adults stay close to its side. Sightings of juvenile whales is a promising sign for the endangered Cook Inlet belugas that spend part of their time in Turnagain Arm to feed. A new aerial count of this genetically unique subspecies of belugas is expected in the next two months. An estimated 340 were last counted.
By Jim Magowan
Turnagain Times Correspondent
August is beluga season in Turnagain Arm. The white whales that follow silver salmon runs at this time of year are part of the smallest and most unique population of beluga whales in the world.
Belugas seen in Turnagain Arm are some of the estimated 340 in Cook Inlet – a population that once numbered 1,300 over 30 years ago.
NOAA’s Fisheries Service declared the Cook Inlet beluga population depleted in 2000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Cook Inlet belugas are an isolated subspecies of the beluga population, estimated at 100,000 worldwide.
Seeing belugas in Turnagain Arm, as well as other parts of Cook Inlet, is a thrill to wildlife enthusiasts, photographers as well as people who simply enjoy seeing whales, often close to shore beside the Seward Highway.
Some years back this reporter, while cycling along the Arm, paced a beluga, swimming close to the road, going 8 mph against a tidal current of about 8 knots.
However, for some people, belugas are not such a welcomed sight.
As a result of being listed as an endangered species by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cook Inlet beluga whales are reportedly having a significant impact on the construction of Port of Anchorage improvements. This is because virtually all of Cook Inlet, including Turnagain Arm, is designated as critical habitat for Cook Inlet beluga whales; therefore, any “taking” of beluga in this area requires permission from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. Taking is defined as anything that might affect the whales, including noise that may bother them.
During construction, the Port of Anchorage has whale watchers looking for whales near the project. If a whale is sighted in the vicinity, work is halted until they leave the area so construction noise will not disturb them, thereby creating a taking.
The Port of Anchorage and Point McKenzie projects have consulted NMFS and have a permit from NMFS that allows about 30 to 40 takings per year. In this case, the permitted takings are harassment (noise) only, not harvesting or injuring the whales, according to Barbara Mahoney, a biologist with Protected Resources Division of NMFS based in Anchorage, who is studying Cook Inlet beluga whales.
“So far, the listing has not directly affected any projects in Turnagain Arm because there are no projects currently under way that require consultation with NMFS,” said Mahoney.
She added that a project to straighten the Seward Highway in the Windy Point area of Turnagain Arm is being discussed that would probably require a review by NMFS because it is in beluga critical habitat and might disturb beluga with blasting or other construction noise.
Other potential projects that would require review include a causeway from Point Campbell to Fire Island and possible development of tidal generation sites.
Beluga population counts are a source of dispute. It is not easy to count an animal that can travel throughout Cook Inlet. Adding to the difficulty is the color of juvenile whales. Unlike the distinctive white adults, for the first years of life, young belugas are gray making them very difficult to see in the silty water of Cook Inlet. In addition, it is difficult to know if the whales had previously been counted.
For years, the main method of counting whales was to fly over the inlet and make a visual count. The error rate in such counts is affected by factors such as weather conditions that make it more or less difficult to spot and identify whales.
Whale counts have gone up and down since 2001. The National Marine Fisheries Service believes the population is still declining. Counts for the past three years have been: (2008) 375, (2009) 321, and (2010) 340. The 2011 video survey may give a more accurate picture than past counts due to improved technology.
Mahoney explained that this year, instead of a simple visual count, videos were made of the whales. The videos are now being analyzed. The videos make it easier to spot juveniles because the examiner can look at the image for a longer time and more than once.
“This makes it far less likely that juveniles will be missed in the count, and with video, counters can identify individual whales and groups of whales, which reduces double counting, so the numbers should be more accurate,” said Mahoney.
The video recordings of the whales for the 2011 count have been completed, and those numbers are now being analyzed. It is possible that the count could be completed earlier, but according to Mahoney, the most likely time for the final count to come out is sometime in October or November of this year.
Ultimately the goal of the conservation plan for Cook Inlet beluga whales is to reach what is considered a healthy, sustained or increasing the population to 780 whales.
When the population reaches a five-year level of 350, subsistence hunting by Native Alaskans, which was suspended in 2008, will be allowed with bag limits established by NMFS. The effect this will have on reaching the Conservation Plan goal of whales is not known.
Overharvesting of Cook Inlet belugas is considered a major factor in its decline. NOAA reported that between 1999 and 2007, hunters took five beluga whales for subsistence in Cook Inlet, down from 308 between 1995 and 1998.
