Whale Population Plummeting in Project Area, New Federal Data Show ANCHORAGE, Alaska— Conservation groups Friday threatened to sue the Trump administration for approving oil exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet after new federal data found a dramatic decline in the area’s population of endangered beluga whales. The formal notice of intent to file an Endangered Species Act lawsuit […]
Today, NOAA Fisheries released its biennial abundance estimate for endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales. Scientists estimated that the population size is between 250 and 317, with a median estimate of 279. The population is estimated to be smaller and declining more quickly than previously thought. Abundance estimates can vary from year to year due to a […]
AR’UQ, ARWAQ – WHALE AR’UT AMLERTUT. – THERE ARE MANY WHALES. Six species of baleen whales feed in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Alaska. Each spring, grey, humpback, minke, fin, right, and blue whales swim by on their way to the Bering Sea, although many remain in the Kodiak area. For Alutiiq communities, […]
The Department of Justice’s Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that a Kaktovik man faces federal charges for knowingly taking a polar bear in a manner unlawful under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and has been charged with Wasteful Taking of a Marine Mammal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened an investigation this Spring after […]