ESTIMATED ABUNDANCE OF BELUGA WHALES IN COOK INLET, ALASKA, FROM AERIAL SURVEYS CONDUCTED IN JUNE 2009
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted aerial surveys of the beluga population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, 2-9 June 2009 as a continuum of surveys conducted since 1993. Five of the days in 2009 resulted in complete surveys of the beluga habitat in the upper inlet (north of East Foreland a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.230.488 http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga/survey/abundance_june2009.pdf |
| Summary: | The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducted aerial surveys of the beluga population in Cook Inlet, Alaska, 2-9 June 2009 as a continuum of surveys conducted since 1993. Five of the days in 2009 resulted in complete surveys of the beluga habitat in the upper inlet (north of East Foreland and West Foreland); and the remaining three days included surveys of the lower inlet and a compulsory day off for the pilots. During the five surveys of the upper inlet, 17 beluga groups were observed, and 5 to 12 counting passes were made per group. This season there was a fairly typical presentation of beluga groups, with two or more large groups in the Susitna area and a few smaller groups in Chickaloon Bay on each survey day. No beluga groups were found in Knik Arm, Turnagain Arm, or elsewhere in Cook Inlet. The five complete surveys were considered to be of sufficient quality to use for estimation of abundance. The estimated abundance for June 2009 is 321 (CV 18%; 95 % CI 226 to 456; Nmin = 276). |
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