The endangered Cook Inlet beluga population, now below 300 animals, has continued to decline. A variety of factors appear to be to blame. Via AlaskaBeacon
• Other human activities in the animals’ range.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration produced a plan in 2016 to aid the beluga population’s recovery. The plan found that cumulative impacts were among the top three threats to the population’s continued existence, along with underwater noise and the possibility of some catastrophic event.
Migura would know. She is a veteran of NOAA Fisheries and was one of the agency’s leaders in creating theThe Cook Inlet beluga population plunged from about 1,300 in the 1970s to fewer than 300 now. Though it was designated an endangered species in 2008, it continued to drop at a rate of 2.3% a year from then until 2018.
Noise is considered a threat because it potentially interferes with the whales’ ability to communicate with each other through their varied calls.
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