Beluga Whale Research and Reports
Status of Five Beluga Stocks

Satellite tag on a Cook Inlet beluga whale
- Beluga Stock Assessments (5 Alaska stocks)
- Molecular Genetic Studies of Population Structure and Movement Patterns in a Migratory Species: The Beluga Whale in the Western Nearctic Greg M. O'Corry-Crowe, et al., 2002
- Persistent Chlorinated Compounds and Elements in Tissues of CI Beluga Whales, Paul R. Becker, Rebecca S. Pugh, et al., April 2001
- Map of all five beluga stocks
Research on Eastern Chukchi Sea Belugas
- Satellite Tagging Point Lay Beluga Whales: 1998 - 2008
- Movements and Area Use of Belugas in Subarctic Alaskan Estuary, Arctic, Vol. 58, No. 4, December 2005
- Phylogeography, population structure and dispersal patterns of the beluga whale in the western Nearctic revealed by mitochondrial DNA, Molecular Ecology, G. M. O’Corry-Crowe, et al., 1997
Research on Bristol Bay Belugas
- Satellite Tagging: 2003, 2002
- Kvichak Beluga Tagging Study: Are beluga whales a factor in the collapse of Kvichak's red salmon run? (2006, Bristol Bay Native Association external link)
- Alaska Beluga Whale Committee Biopsies - A Genetic Mark-Recapture Pilot Project: 2005, 2004
Research on Cook Inlet Belugas
- Status Reviews
- News Release: Cook Inlet Beluga Population Holds Steady from 2007 NEW!
- Status Review and Extinction Risk Assessment of Cook Inlet Belugas: 2008, 2006, 1999, 1992
- Species of Concern, 2006
- Beluga Whales - Status, Distribution, Harvest History, Historic and Current Use, Habitat Associations, Traditional Knowledge and Abundance, Marine Fisheries Review, Vol 62, No. 3, 2000
- Synthesis of Available Information on the Cook Inlet Stock of Beluga Whales, Sue Moore, et al., December 1999
- 2006 World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, Cook Inlet population, IUCN website (external link)
- Monitoring Recovery Status and Age Structure of Cook Inlet, Alaska Belugas by Skin Color Determination, L. K. Litzky, 2001
- Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet - A Review, K. Shelden, 1994
- Satellite Tagging in Cook Inlet, 1999-2003
- Aerial Surveys
- August 2007
- June 2007
- 1994-2007 annual abundance estimates for CI belugas as determined by aerial surveys in June and July
- August 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- August 2005
- June 2005
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
- 2001
- 2000
- June 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004
- June 2001 to June 2002
- Group Count Estimates and Analysis of Surfacing Behavior of Beluga Whales from Aerial Video in Cook Inlet, 1994
- Habitat
- Habitat Use in a Marine Ecosystem: Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Marine Ecology, K. T. Goetz, et al., January 2007
- Baroclinic tidal flows and inundation processes in Cook Inlet,Alaska: numerical modeling and satellite observations, Ocean Dynamics, Lie-Yauw Oey, Tal Ezer, Chuanmin Hu, Frank E. Muller-Karger
- International Polar Year Project - Pan-Arctic Tracking of Beluga Whales: an international science initiative from March 2007 to March 2009 to develop a circumpolar view of the movements and habitats of beluga whales throughout arctic and sub arctic waters
- Movements and Area Use of Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas,in a Subarctic Alaskan Estuary, Arctic, VOL. 58, N0. 4, P. 331–340, R.C. Hobbs, K.L. Laidre, D.J. Vos, B.A. Mahoney and M. Eagleton, December 2005
- Areas Used by CI Belugas: June, July and August 1993-1999 (Figure)
- Life History
- Photo-identification of beluga whales in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska 2007 Annual Report; Prepared for Chevron, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Conoco Phillips Alaska, Inc., February 2008
- Unusual Mortality in the 2003 Depleted Cook Inlet Beluga Population, Northwestern Naturalist, 2005
- Developing a calving rate index for beluga in Cook Inlet, Alaska using aerial videography and photography, Christy Sims, et al., 2003
- Killer Whale Predation on Belugas in Cook Inlet, Alaska: Implications for a Depleted Population, Marine Mammal Science, K. Shelden, et al., July 2003
- Cook Inlet Beluga Age and Growth, Dan Vos, 2003
- Anthropogenic Impacts
- Incidental Catch and Interactions of Marine Mammals and Birds in the Cook Inlet Salmon Driftnet and Setnet Fisheries 1999-2000
- Native Harvest and Use of Beluga in the Upper Cook Inlet
- January - June 1995
- July 1 - November 15, 1995 (with updates for January - July 1995)
- April - November 1996
- Acoustic Measurements in Cook Inlet, Susanna B. Blackwell, et al., August 2001
- Field Report for Vessel Operations in Cook Inlet, J. Waite, et al., July 1995
- Impacts of Vessel Surveys and Tagging Operations on the Behavior of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet June 1994, K. Shelden, 1994
- Yakutat and Other Opportunistic Sightings
- The Ecology, Status and Stock Identity of Beluga Whales in Yakutat Bay, Alaska, Report to the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, G. O’Corry-Crowe, et al., February 2006
- Opportunistic Sightings of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet 1997-2002, C. Sims, D. Rugh, 2004