Pre-Deployment Visual Monitoring for Beluga Whales in and Near the Cook Inlet Tidal Energy Project Proposed Deployment Area May-November 2010
March 01, 2011
Final Report: A study by LGL Alaska Research Associates, Inc., sponsored by Ocean Renewable Power Alaska (ORPC) to monitor beluga whale presence, relative abundance, and behavior off of the north side of Fire Island, Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska.
South-central Alaska's Cook Inlet is home to some of the greatest tidal energy potential in the United States. It is also home to an endangered population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas). Successful permitting and operation of a tidal power project in Cook Inlet will require a rigorous biological assessment of the potential and realized effects of the sound footprint and physical presence of tidal turbines on the distribution, relative abundance, and behavior of Cook Inlet beluga whales.