Quebec beluga whales now officially listed as endangered

The federal government has followed through on its promise to strengthen protection for beluga whalesin the St. Lawrence Estuary bybumping up its status on the endangered species list.

Belugas in the regionhave gone from "threatened" to "endangered"according to Robert Michaud,a beluga expert andcoordinatorwith the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network.

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The status change was officially announced Wednesday and thenew designation means Ottawa will have to create a recoveryplan in collaboration with scientists, industry representatives, local fishing organizations, Indigenous groups and other affected groups.

Michaud says such a plan already exists.

"Concretely, this will not change the level of protection for the beluga, which, as an endangered species, was already well protected by existing laws," he said.

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However, Michaud believes that politically, the recognition that the beluga's situation is deteriorating is a step in the right direction.

An estimated 10,000 beluga whales existed in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf prior to 1885,according toFisheries and Oceans Canada.

In 2012, that number was down to 900.

A slow decline in the population has been observed since the early 2000s due to a number of factors includingpollution, reduced food resources, disturbance by humans and habitat degradation.

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The public now has 30 days to comment on the new designation.