A. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)/World Conservation Union.
The beluga whale is listed in the IUCN/World Conservation Union's insufficiently knowncategory (Brownell, Ralls, and Perrin, 1989). Animals in this category are suspected of being either endangered, threatened, or vulnerable, but lack of information prohibits listing the beluga in one of these categories.
B.The International Whaling Commission (IWC).
1. In 1946, 14 countries signed the International Whaling Convention for the regulation of whaling, forming the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The purpose of the IWC is to protect the future of whale stocks as a resource.
2. Currently the IWC has no jurisdiction over small cetaceans. However, now that the harvest of most baleen whales and sperm whales has stopped, the IWC has expressed an interest in playing a role in managing small cetaceans as well.
3. The IWC has no means by which to enforce regulations.
C. Legal protection.
1. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 made it illegal to hunt or harass any marine mammal in U.S. waters.
a. The MMPA does allow for certain exceptions: native subsistence hunting; collecting or temporarily restraining marine mammals for research, education, and public display; and taking restricted numbers of marine mammals incidentally in the course of fishing operations.
b. The primary objective of the MMPA is to maintain the health and stability of the marine ecosystem and to obtain and maintain an optimum sustainable population of marine mammals.
c. According to the MMPA, all whales in U.S. waters are under the jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
2. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) is an international treaty developed in 1973 to regulate trade in certain wildlife species. CITES protects all species of toothed whales.
3. An isolated population of belugas in the St. Lawrence River has been legally protected since 1983. In 1988 the Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Environment Canada (a government agency that oversees national parks) implemented the St. Lawrence Action Plan. The goal of the plan was to eliminate 90% of all industrial emissions in the St. Lawrence River by 1993. As of 1992 emissions had been reduced by 59% (Dold, 1993).
D. Marine zoological parks.
1. Having beluga whales at marine zoological parks provides the opportunity for the public to learn about these animals and how human activities impact their survival.
2. In the protected environment of a marine zoological park, scientists can examine aspects of beluga whale biology that are difficult or impossible to study in the wild.
At marine zoological parks that are home to beluga whales, people from all
over the world have the opportunity to learn about these animals and how human activities
impact their survival.
SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database
www.seaworld.org / www.buschgardens.org
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