NMFS has conducted annual surveys of the Cook Inlet beluga whale between 1994 and 1998. Responding to the dramatic decline in this stock, NMFS initiated a Status Review of the Cook Inlet stock on November 11, 1998. Recommendations from this review are expected to be published at the end of May 1999. The Cook Inlet beluga whale stock is hunted by Alaskan Natives, some of whom reside in communities on or near Cook Inlet and some of whom are from other Alaskan towns and villages. The whales concentrate off the mouths of several rivers entering upper Cook Inlet during the ice-free season, making them especially vulnerable to hunting.
Most hunters use small motorboats launched from Anchorage, and hunt near the river mouths.
Common hunting technique is to isolate a whale from a group and pursue it into shallow waters. Whales are shot with high powered rifles and may be harpooned to aid in recovery. Subsistence harvest levels of Cook Inlet beluga whales are largely unreported. The 1996 harvest was estimated as 49 beluga whales landed and 49-98 additional whales struck and lost. Therefore, NMFS has determined that promulgation of reporting regulations is necessary to establish reliable harvest estimates.