EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Strandings may represent a significant threat to the conservation and recovery of the Cook Inlet
beluga whale population.
Gaydos et al., (2004a) identified 16 infectious agents in free-ranging and captive southern
resident killer whales, but concluded that none of these pathogens were known to have high
potential to cause epizootics. Many of these same infectious agents could pose a problem for
Cook Inlet beluga whales. At this time little information is available to date to suggest bacterial
or viral agents are actively contributing to the decline in the Cook Inlet population. About 80%
of Cook Inlet beluga whales examined, however, have evidence of the parasite Crassicauda
giliakiana in the kidneys, although it is presently unclear whether the parasite is affecting the
status of the population (NMFS 2008b). Necropsies have also revealed infestations of the
common nematode anasakids, or whaleworm in the stomach of adult Cook Inlet beluga whales.
While the parasite tends to favor the stomach and can cause gastritis or ulcerations, the
infestations in beluga whales has not been considered severe enough to have caused clinical
responses (NMFS 2008b). Liver trematodes have also been identified in at least one beluga
whale. At present, NMFS has no information to suggest that parasites are having a measureable
impact on the survival and health of the Cook Inlet whale population (NMFS 2008b).
Anthropogenic Threats. Human induced threats to Cook Inlet beluga whales include subsistence
harvest, poaching and illegal harvest, incidental take during commercial fishing and reduction of
prey through fishing harvests, pollution, oil and gas development, urban development, vessel
traffic including from tourism and whale watching, noise, as well as research activities directed
at beluga whales. During the early 1900s there was a short-lived commercial whaling company,
The Beluga Whaling Company, which operated at the Beluga River in upper Cook Inlet. The
Company during its 5 years of operation harvest 151 belugas from 1917-1921 (Mahoney and
Shelden 2000). Another commercial hunt of beluga whales in 1930s is recollected by residents,
but no record of the hunt exists in Alaska fishery and fur seal documents (as cited in Mahoney
and Shelden 2000). In 1999 and 2000 there was a voluntary moratorium on subsistence harvest.
Thereafter, subsistence harvests have been conducted under co-management agreements. Since
2000, no more than 2 beluga whales have been taken in subsistence harvests in any one year
(NMFS 2008b).
Commercial fisheries likely have varying levels of interactions with Cook Inlet beluga whales,
according to the timing, gear types, targeted species and location of activities (NMFS 2008b).
Reports of fatal interactions with commercial fisheries have been noted in the literature (Hobbs
et al. 2008). Direct interactions with fishing vessels and nets are considered unusual, based on
observer data and unlikely to inhibit the recovery of Cook Inlet beluga whales. The reduction of
prey species, however, is of more concern for the species. In 2000 NMFS recommended the
closing of the eulachon fishery due to a lack of understanding of how this fishery interfered with
beluga whale feeding, but in 2005 this fishery was reopened with a harvest limited at 100 tons of
eulachon. Currently, it is unclear if fishery harvest of prey species is having a significant impact
on the beluga whale population. Impacts from recreational fisheries, which are very popular in
the region, likely include the reduction of fish prey species particularly salmonid species and also
the harassment from noise and risk of injury from vessel strikes from the operation of small
watercraft in the estuarine/river mouths (NMFS 2008b).
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