Beluga whale  (Delphinapterus leucas)

Belugas have traditionally been hunted for their blubber for many centuries, but only with the advent of commercial whaling did the harvest become too large to sustain (6) (9). These whales are particularly vulnerable, due to their high fidelity for certain migratory routes (3). Perhaps the most pertinent threat to the beluga today, is habitat deterioration in the form of the industrial development and pollution of coastal habitats with which they are particularly associated (3). Some populations are declining principally as a result of pollution; belugas in the St Lawrence River Estuary, for example, accumulate so many toxins that deformed calves are prevalent and dead individuals are treated as toxic waste (10).

Today the widespread hunting of beluga whales is prohibited under the International Moratorium on Commercial Whaling (11); however, small quotas are permitted to local people who depend upon the harvest (6). The Alaska and Inuvialuit Beluga Whale Committee was established in 1988 and encourages dialogue between native hunters, conservationists and government representatives as well as carrying out stock and hunting assessment of the Alaskan and Canadian populations of belugas (12). Some protection from industrial development is being provided at locations where these whales commonly occur but careful monitoring of existing stocks will be needed to secure the future of this attractive cetacean (13).