Publications

The stock of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, declined by greater than 50 percent between 1994 and 1999 resulting in a depleted determination under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The NOAA Fisheries believes that the subsistence harvest of these whales was the principal factor in the decline.

Pursuant to section 5.05(b), I have determined that the subject proposed rule is categorically excluded from further NEPA analysis according to the criteria for categorical exclusions established in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Administrative Order 216-6 (NAO 216-6), which sets out the criteria for categorical exclusions for fishery management plans (FMPs) and plan amendments. Paragraph (a)(3)(b)(1) of NAO 216-6 states that a management plan amendment may be categorically excluded from further NEPA analysis if the action is an amendment or change to a previously analyzed and approved action and if the proposed change has no effect individually or cumulatively on the human environment.

Analysis of alternative actions to address the issue of the improved retention and improved utilization (IR/IU) of yellowfin sole and rock sole in BSAI groundfish fisheries and shallow-water flatfish in GOA groundfish fisheries (Flatfish IR/IU).

In this study, scientists present the first assessment of killer whale predation on belugas in Cook Inlet.

This supplement to the 2001 Biological Opinion is a focused response to issues outlined by the Court, and the memo by James Balsiger. It does not incorporate information or analyses on ancillary issues surrounding the Steller sea lion decline.

Assessment of Cook Inlet noise and potential impacts to the Cook Inlet beluga whale population.

Assessment of potential impacts of implementing a regulatory amendment for a guideline harvest level in the halibut charter fisheries in International Pacific Halibut Commission Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Southcentral Alaska).

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science at the Alaska Pacific University–Anchorage, Alaska.

Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Cook Inlet are the most geographically and genetically isolated of the five stocks recognized around Alaska (OCorry-Crowe et al. 1997, Laidre et al. 2000). Their isolation, in combination with high site fidelity in summer (Rugh et al. 2000, 2005, 2010), makes them particularly vulnerable to both environmental (Moore et al. 2000) and anthropogenic impacts (Hill 1996). The population of Cook Inlet belugas declined by nearly 50% between 1994 and 1998 to an estimated 347 whales (Hobbs et al. 2000). Despite cessation of the Alaska Native subsistence hunt in 1999 of approximately 70 animals per year (Mahoney and Shelden 2000), the abundance estimates of belugas in Cook Inlet have remained low (321 and 340 animals in 2009 and 2010 compared to 653 in 1994) with no notable signs of recovery (Hobbs and Shelden 2008). In recognition of the low numbers of belugas remaining in Cook Inlet, the U.S. government listed this isolated population as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in October 2008.

The action will promulgate fishery regulations to define the legal harvest of halibut for subsistence use in the Convention waters in and off Alaska.