Alaska’s largest one-day marine mammal educational event to celebrate 50th anniversary of Endangered Species Act. NOAA Fisheries and partners invite the public to celebrate the 5th Annual Belugas Count! and the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act on Saturday, September 23. Belugas Count! is a free, family-friendly educational celebration of the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. These white […]
Scientists assessing tsunami threats throughout Alaska recently modeled the flooding scenario of the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake and discovered that a tsunami could reach upper Cook Inlet, countering a long-held public belief that the region has no tsunami risk. A new report by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical […]
On July 21st, 1917, a salmon tender pulled into Seward with news of deaths in the major storms that had encompassed Cook Inlet. The crew on the tender reported that five fishermen were lost and two Kenai fish traps had been washed away as the storms lashed the coastline there. Fish traps dotted the seascape […]
New survey estimate and recent trend data suggest the population may be stable and possibly increasing slightly. This month, NOAA Fisheries announced an updated abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 290 and 386, with a median best estimate of 331. In 2018, scientists estimated that the […]