HR 8 Summary

• Opposes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's designation of 3,016 square miles of upper Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay as critical habitat for beluga whales.

• Asserts the critical habitat designation failed to adequately consider economic effects on shipping, oil and gas exploration and production, mining, and other economic activities in the inlet.

• Argues the National Marine Fisheries Service attributed the primary population decline to unsustainable subsistence harvest in the 1990s, which was addressed through a cooperative harvest management plan established in 2000.

• Notes beluga whale population increased from 278 in 2005 to 340 in 2010 (four percent annual increase) and contends there is little evidence that human activity or commercial/sport fishing has harmed the population.

• Directs copies of the resolution to federal officials including the President, Vice President, Commerce Secretary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, and Alaska state and local elected officials.