NOAA’s Fisheries Service will extend the final decision on listing Cook Inlet beluga whales up to six months, which will give NOAA researchers time to prepare a 2008 population abundance estimate before the agency decides whether or not to list the population under the Endangered Species Act.

Last year, biologists for NOAA’s Fisheries Service estimated the Cook Inlet beluga whale population at 375, the largest since 2001.

“We believe that substantial disagreement exists regarding the population trend, and that allowing an additional six months to obtain the 2008 abundance estimate would better inform our final determination as to whether the Cook Inlet beluga whale should be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act,” said Doug Mecum, acting Alaska regional administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.

You can read the rest of this release on the NOAA page.