https://youtu.be/H_fPi_-YCW4

Four main reasons that are causing the beluga whale population to decrease is sound pollution, toxic chemical spills, over hunting, and climate change. Organizations, aquariums, experts, and the government has been coming up with solutions to solve the problems, and these include captive breeding, using the water-oil separation, and raising public awareness. This video will introduce the implications and consequences for each of these solutions in order to save Delphinapterus leucas (or as known as beluga whales).

Captive breeding

Solution: A majority of aquariums are supportive to captive breeding, not only because it brings up the tourism industry, but also it allows them to keep track of the world population and provide them with the most considerate care, hoping for the population to grow back.
Implication: However, captive breeding degrades the immune system of beluga whales, because they aren’t able to live freely like they did in nature. Being cared by human makes animals more and more dependent on human care, which might cause them to be unable to adapt to the wild again.

Water-oil separation

Solution: The water-oil separation requires some of the largest skimmers in the world, to skim the surface of the water and manually collect floating oil.
Implication: Even though this solution can be used in calm, isolated water, strong ocean currents largely hinder the process. Also, this ocean cleaning method is obviously, a rather costly procedure in terms of time, effort and money.

Raising awareness

Solution: Informing the public is a big part of conservation. Raising awareness means to gain public’s level of understanding about the importance and implications of beluga whales in the ecosystem. For example, by informing the public that belugas play a very important role in regulating the fish population using data and evidence, many people will be convinced to stop hunting beluga whales. Another thing we can inform is that since beluga whales rely on sea ice for hiding from predators, feeding, and taking refuge, and since the melting sea ice is shrinking quicker than the beluga whales to adapt, climate change plays a direct role in the decline of beluga whales.
Implications: Raising awareness doesn’t have complicated implications, and the people who are doing this are not limited to organizations and experts. Every of us can teach and inform the people around us about what we are doing that are causing beluga whales to become endangered. 

Citation:

Websites:
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Speegle, J. (2017). NOAA Fisheries Issues Recovery Plan for Cook Inlet beluga whales. Retrieved 30 May 2017, from https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/node/55458

Images:
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