3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017 NOAA releases recovery plan for endangered beluga whales Focus on research and potential threats By DAN JOLING Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal plan for the recov- ery of an endangered Alaska beluga whale calls for a reduc- tion in threats of high concern while scientists try to pinpoint what has kept the population from growing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion has announced its recov- ery plan for Cook Inlet beluga whales, a population listed as endangered since 2008. NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service acknowl- edges it does not know why the population hasn’t bounced back. In the absence of an answer, the agency will focus on research and potential threats, such as noise and the cumulative effects of “multi- ple stressors.” “Until we know which threats are limiting this species’ recovery, the strategy of this recovery plan is to focus recov- ery efforts on threats identified as of medium or high relative concern,” the agency said. Alaska fought the endan- gered species listing of Cook Inlet belugas eight years ago and took issue with the recov- ery plan. State Division of Wildlife Conservation direc- tor Bruce Dale in a state- ment said it contains unten- able recovery criteria that will limit acceptance by interested parties and extend hurdles to development. “The most critical action for recovering the Cook Inlet belugas will be to deter- mine why the population isn’t growing,” Dale said. “The threats limiting recovery are unknown.” AP Photo/Al Grillo One of two beluga whales that washed ashore on a beach south of Anchorage, Alaska, in 2003. The Cook In- let beluga whale population was listed as endangered in 2008, and a federal recovery plan released Wednesday calls for a reduction in threats of highest concern, in- cluding noise and cumulative factors that may be keep- ing the population from growing. A 1979 survey counted nearly 1,300 beluga whales. A 2014 survey estimated just 340 and a population continu- ing to trend downward. The recovery plan calls for an upgrade to “threat- ened” status when the popula- tion reaches 520 animals and delisting when there are 780. Dale took issue with those targets. “These demographic cri- teria are problematic because the number of animals in a population is not necessar- ily an indication of the risk of extinction,” Dale said. The plan includes threats-based recovery criteria that cannot be measured and are impossi- ble to meet, he said. Cook Inlet belugas are one of five beluga popula- tions in U.S. waters. Cook Inlet stretches 180 miles from Anchorage to the Gulf of Alaska and the fisheries ser- vice considers 1,300 animals to be its carrying capacity. The whales turn white as adults and can reach 15 feet long. They feed on salmon, smaller fish, crab, shrimp, squid and clams and in late summer can be spotted from highways leading from Anchorage, chasing salmon schooled at stream mouths. The Cook Inlet beluga population dwindled steadily through the 1980s and early ’90s. The decline accelerated between 1994 and 1998 when Alaska Natives harvested nearly half the remaining 650 whales in only four years. Subsistence hunting ended in 1999. Federal officials initially figured that controlling sub- sistence hunting would allow the population to recover. When it did not, they declared belugas endangered in 2008. The agency identified 10 potential threats to belugas. Of highest concern are cata- strophic events, such as nat- ural disasters or oil spills; cumulative effects of multiple stressors; and noise. Threats of medium con- cern include disease agents, such as blooms of harmful algae, loss of habitat, a reduc- tion in prey and unauthorized killing. Threats of relatively low concern include pollution, pre- dation and subsistence hunting. The agency estimated recovery could take at least 50 years, which translates into two generations of whales. Karla Dutton, Alaska pro- gram director for Defenders of Wildlife, said the recov- ery plan was overdue but welcome. “We call on National Marine Fisheries Service to properly fund in a timely man- ner the science needed to fur- ther understand and address these threats so we can work together to recover this iconic Cook Inlet species,” she said by email. AP Photo/Bizuayehu Tesfaye SeaWorld Adventure Park trainer Ken Peters, left, looks to a killer whale during a 2006 performance at Shamu Sta- dium inside the theme park in San Diego. SeaWorld San Diego is ending its controversial and long-running killer whale show. SeaWorld San Diego ending killer whale show ticket sales, SeaWorld Enter- tainment Inc. announced last year it was ending its theatri- cal orca shows and breeding program. Parks in Orlando and San Antonio will end their shows by 2019. SeaWorld has seen atten- dance fall since the 2013 docu- mentary “Blackfish” criticized conditions of captive orcas, implying that confinement made them more aggressive. “Blackfish” chronicled the life of Tilikum, an orca that killed a SeaWorld trainer during a performance in Orlando in 2010. The movie’s director has told CBS that the new show was designed to make the audience feel better, not the animals. “The trainers aren’t safe, and the whales aren’t happy,” Gabriela Cowperthwaite said. “They’re still just doing manic circles around concrete swim- ming pools.” SeaWorld reported Friday that Tilikum, who was believed to be about 36 years old and in poor health, had died in Orlando. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. announced last month that it was eliminating 320 jobs across its 12-park company. The company also announced that it would help develop its first SeaWorld park without orcas, in Abu Dhabi. Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Sea- World San Diego is ending its long-running killer whale show after years of outcry and falling attendance prompted it to renounce theatrical orca displays. The show that featured killer whales cavorting with trainers and leaping high out of the Shamu Stadium pool had its final performances on Sunday. This summer, the park will unveil a new attraction in the revamped pool. Orca Encoun- ter is being billed as an edu- cational experience that will show how killer whales eat, communicate and navigate. The animals will still receive cues from trainers, however. “You will still see a whale leaping out of the water,” Al Garver, a former orca trainer and vice president of zoological operations, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We want to be able to demonstrate behav- iors people would see in the wild with the killer whales and their abilities as a top predator in the sea. The vast majority of behaviors people have seen in our shows will be very suitable for demonstrating that.” The park has 11 orcas, rang- ing in age from 2 to 52 years old. Under pressure from activ- ists and faced with declining YOU’RE INVITED TO AN EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL EVENT! FREE 30 DAY TRIAL * NOW THROUGH JANUARY 13 TH , 2017 WHY CHOOSE MIRACLE EAR? 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