For the first time, we are using an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), a hexacopter, to collect photographs of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale to estimate the length of individual whales and learn more about why it has been slow to recover despite many efforts to help it. The Cook Inlet watershed stretches some 50,000 […]
NOAA Fisheries marine mammal entanglement experts are hopeful that a humpback whale is free, after a successful operation to cut the anchor line it was stuck in Sunday afternoon near the mouth of Tracy Arm. The humpback had become entangled in the anchor line of the cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer early Sunday morning. During the […]
The Alaska Fisheries Science Center is back for a second year of tracking northern fur seals on St. Paul Island and measuring prey availability in the northern fur seals feeding area. Continuing this work is a fantastic opportunity that will help AFSC build on what we learned in 2016. Similar to last year, AFSC’s plan is […]
NOAA Fisheries, released Thursday, its biennial population estimate for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. Scientists determined that the population size is between 279 and 386 animals, with a most likely estimate of 328 animals. The estimate is derived from data collected during a June 2016 aerial survey. The previous estimate, from 2014, was 340 […]