The federal government on Friday placed beluga whales that live in Cook Inlet in Alaska on the endangered species list, rejecting efforts by Gov. Sarah Parlin and others against increased protection.
The relatively small, whitish whales, sometimes visible from downtown Anchorage, declined by almost 50 percent in the late 1990s, and federal scientists say they have not rebounded despite a series of protections, including a halt to subsistence hunting by Alaska Natives. About 375 whales have been counted in Cook Inlet each of the last two years, according to scientists with theNational Marine Research Fisheries Service.
"In spite of protections already in place, Cook Inlet beluga whales are not recovering," James W. Balsiger, the acting assistant administrator for
the fisheries agency, said in a written statement. The whales are in danger of extinction, Dr. Balsiger said.
(More in... ARTICLE)
So both rep and demo candidates are against this move and there is conflicting data. Yes it may make planned infrastructure projects more costly but given
the low number of whales, surely it would be far better to take a more cautious approach in further delaying the planned infrastructure until more research is
done. Money comes and goes and will always be around, the same cannot be said for a species.
