Letter to the Editor: What is killing our belugas?

A beluga needs to consume about five sockeye per day to achieve this 44 pounds of fat.

In this September 2017 file photo from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, beluga whales arch their backs through the surface of the water. Of Alaska’s five distinct beluga whale populations, only Cook Inlet’s is listed as endangered. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

In this September 2017 file photo from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, beluga whales arch their backs through the surface of the water. Of Alaska’s five distinct beluga whale populations, only Cook Inlet’s is listed as endangered. (Courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

What is killing our belugas?

What would you do if your grocery store didn’t have any groceries? How long would it take you to develop a food emergency? Our oceans are trying to survive human industrialization but they are stumbling. Marine life is being sold worldwide at unprecedented levels.

Cook Inlet beluga whales prey primarily on sockeye salmon in July in order to acquire enough body weight to survive the winter. This (July fat increase) must happen at the same time Cook Inlet’ s commercial fisheries spread about 7 million linear feet of gill nets in front of the salmon migrating up Cook Inlet. Commercial fisheries harvest about 90% of these surplus salmon annually, leaving about 10% for public fisheries.

Beluga whales need about 44 pounds of salmon daily in July to put on enough body fat to survive the winter. Failure to consume this fat cannot be made up with extra hunting. Not much moves up Cook Inlet the rest of the year, so they either feast in July or starve later. A beluga needs to consume about five sockeye per day to achieve this 44 pounds of fat.

Beluga whales weigh from 2,000-3,000 pounds and five sockeye per day times 31 days in July equals 155 salmon. They each require 155 sockeye annually to achieve minimum fat reserves to survive the winter. Three hundred belugas require 46,500 sockeye, 600 require 93,000 sockeyes and so on. You can have as many belugas as you want to feed.

Cook Inlet can get from 2-6 million sockeye per year. A surplus of 5 million sockeye allocates commercial fisheries 4.5 million sockeye at 90% and public fisheries 500,000 sockeye at 10%. This is a 100% allocation, leaving zero for belugas — unless they somehow steal from sockeye escapements.

With 46,500 sockeyes required and zero available, it’s apparent there’s serious problem. Current 100% sockeye allocation guarantees we either destroy our sockeyes to maintain belugas or destroy our belugas to maintain sockeyes. No matter the size of a sockeye run, a fully allocated resource requires us to sacrifice either sockeyes or belugas.

Without a specific beluga sockeye allocation, Cook Inlet’s belugas will go extinct. This is a Board of Fisheries problem but they are ignoring it. You don’t need to actually starve them to death to eventual kill them. Starvation stress increases strandings, decreases reproduction and increases mortality. Nature senses declining resources and automatically declines reproduction to match it. It turns out that our beluga problem is U.S. selling their prey and spending the money on studies to determine what killed them.

— Donald Johnson, Soldotna

More in Opinion

Nick Begich III campaign materials sit on tables ahead of a May 16, 2022, GOP debate held in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: North to a Brighter Future

The policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life

Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL candidate forum series, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: I’m a Soldotna Republican and will vote No on 2

Open primaries and ranked choice voting offer a way to put power back into the hands of voters, where it belongs

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Vote yes to retain Judge Zeman and all judges on your ballot

Alaska’s state judges should never be chosen or rejected based on partisan political agendas

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Point of View: District 6 needs to return to representation before Vance

Since Vance’s election she has closely aligned herself with the far-right representatives from Mat-Su and Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Help ensure Alaskans have rights to use, enjoy and care for rivers

It is discouraging to see the Department of Natural Resources seemingly on track to erode the public’s ability to protect vital water interests.

A sign directing voters to the Alaska Division of Elections polling place is seen in Kenai, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Vote no on Ballot Measure 2

A yes vote would return Alaska to party controlled closed primaries and general elections in which the candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected.

Derrick Green (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Ballot Measure 1 will help businesses and communities thrive

It would not be good for the health and safety of my staff, my customers, or my family if workers are too worried about missing pay to stay home when they are sick.

A sign warns of the presence of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Could an unnecessary gold mine drive Cook Inlet belugas extinct?

An industrial port for the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine could decimate the bay

Cassie Lawver. Photo provided by Cassie Lawver
Point of View: A clear choice

Sarah Vance has consistently stood up for policies that reflect the needs of our district

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Point of View: Ranked choice gives voters more voice

The major political parties are not in touch with all Alaskans