Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. In early April 1999, Trustees for Alaska filed
an administrative appeal to the Secretary of Commerce asking that a draft
plan to co-manage Cook Inlet beluga whales be released.
Environmentalists and some subsistence hunters complain that they have not
been party to negotiations on this plan. Negotiations were initiated in
mid-March 1999 on a 2-year interim co-management agreement, hoping to
conclude the agreement before subsistence hunting begins in May 1999. On
Apr. 7, 1999, 7 environmental groups filed a motion with the AK Superior
Court to block an Apr. 21, 1999 Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale unless
changes are made to protect beluga whales. On Apr. 9, 1999, NMFS
announced the receipt of several petitions -- to declare beluga whales
depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and to declare these
whales endangered under the Endangered Species Act -- and the
determination that such actions may be warranted. On Apr. 12, 1999, a
group of about 15 Native beluga hunters formed a competing Alaska Native
Marine Mammal Hunter Committee to protest ongoing beluga whale management
activities and seek official recognition. On Apr. 20, 1999 AK Superior
Court Judge Sigurd Murphy issued a stay, deleting 5 tracts from a Apr. 22,
1999, Cook Inlet oil and gas lease sale to protect beluga whales. The
stay also precluded future leasing of 65 other tracts identified as
important for these whales. [Anchorage Daily News, Fed. Register, Reuters]
Gray Whale Mortalities. Between mid-March and mid-April 1999, a number of
dead gray whales washed ashore in California -- including 3 in the San
Francisco Bay area, possibly four in the San Diego area, and several in
the Los Angeles area. In addition, eight mortalities have been reported
in Washington state since January 1999. On Apr. 19, 1999, marine mammal
scientists met in Seattle, WA, sharing information and preliminarily
determining that the recent mortalities do not indicate that a problem
exists. [Reuters, Assoc Press, Seattle Herald, Sacramento Bee]
{Harbor Porpoise Mortality Event. Between early March and mid-April 1999,
at least 162 harbor porpoise have been reported dead along the Atlantic
Back to home page!
