Les baleines beluga

L'effort et le support de ces milliers de personnes nous permettent de suivre de près la situation des bélugas, d'identifier leurs problèmes et de participer aux efforts de rétablissement. En adoptant un béluga du Saint-Laurent, vous nous aidez à mieux les comprendre. Nous avons adopté cette population; nous vous demandons de parrainer un de ses membres.

Anchorage, AK -- The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today proposed to list the imperiled Cook Inlet beluga whale as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The move follows recent data that reveals this distinct beluga whale population's numbers have plummeted nearly 60 percent in the past 15 years.

Les services de la pêche en mer ont proposé d'ajouter cette espèce particulière de Baleine beluga sur la liste des espèces menacées, leur nombre ayant diminué de 60 pour cent au cours des 15 dernières années.

"We applaud the National Marine Fisheries Service for recognizing the plight of the Cook Inlet beluga," said Karla Dutton, Alaska director with Defenders of Wildlife. "The Endangered Species Act listing will help protect and restore these rare whales and their habitat for future generations."

NMFS initially refused to list the whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2000, and instead chose the less rigorous protections afforded by a "depleted" listing under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). In April 2006, with the latest surveys revealing a continued population decline, and in response to a petition by Defenders and other conservation groups requesting listing under the Endangered Species Act, NMFS once again considered whether the Cook Inlet beluga whale should be protected as an endangered species. Such a listing would require NMFS to take steps to recover the species and designate and protect its habitat. Scientists at the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission – the federal agency mandated by Congress to advise NMFS on the protection of the nation's marine mammals – have repeatedly called on NMFS to list the beluga under the ESA.

"The Cook Inlet beluga lives in the most populated and fastest-growing watershed in Alaska," Dutton continued. "We need to look at potential impacts from oil and gas development, sewage exposure, shipping, fishing and underwater seismic blasting to determine which are putting the most severe pressure on the beluga population. This endangered species designation will encourage this needed research and other actions to help recover this Cook Inlet icon."

Currently, about 300 belugas remain in Cook Inlet– down from historical estimates of 1300. The whale's plight is so dire the World Conservation Union added the Cook Inlet beluga to its "Red List" in April 2006, classifying it as "critically endangered." The only category after "critically endangered" is "extinct."