Cook Inlet Beluga Whales Skip Kenai River During Peak Salmon Fishing Season

A two‑year hydrophone study led by PhD student Sonia Kumar at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found that endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales were largely absent from the Kenai River during the summer salmon‑fishing season of 2021‑2022. The whales were more frequently detected in the fall, when commercial, sport and personal fishing activities were reduced, and were not detected at all in the nearby Kasilof River.

The research confirms a long‑term decline in the genetically distinct beluga population, with an estimated 331 individuals in the inlet in 2022—about a quarter of the numbers recorded in the late 1980s. While the data suggest a correlation between high human activity and reduced summer presence, researchers cautioned that the findings do not definitively attribute the decline to fishing or other human activities.