NOAA Mulls Removal of Eastern Steller Sea Lions from Threatened List

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is planning to strike out the eastern Steller sea lions from the threatened species list.

This announcement was made by the NOAA Wednesday, Oct.24. The NOAA spokesperson, Julie Speegle, said that the eastern North Pacific gray whale was the last animal delisted from the threatened list way back in 1941.

These sea lions were being monitored by the NOAA since 2010 from Alaska's Cape Suckling to California's Channel Islands and the organisation invited a 60-day public input for the delisting. NOAA received two petitions from the state of Alaska and states of Washington and Oregon asking for the removal of the sea lions from the threatened animal list under the Endangered Species Act. This listing had also resulted in protests against the fishing regulations by fishermen.

The reassessment of these marine mammals got over by March 2012 and a significant rise in their population was observed by the administration. The population of the eastern Steller sea lions was around 34,000 in 1997, it increased to about 70,000 by 2010.

"This proposal reflects the continued recovery of the eastern population of Steller sea lions and the strong conservation partnership among NOAA Fisheries, the states, the fishing industry, and other stakeholders," Jim Balsiger, NOAA's Fisheries Service Alaska Regional Administrator, stated in a press release.

This mammal was removed from the list after a notable recovery was observed in their population in the eastern region, the western stock ranging from Alaska as far as the Russian Pacific coast still remains on the list.

These sea lions were listed as threatened species in 1990 as a result of sudden depletion in their population because of hunting.

Steps were taken to protect the Stellers by introducing the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the harming, killing or harassing of any marine mammal, as stated by the Marine Medical Center.

An aggressive campaign to educate people against killing them for pleasure was adopted, which proved beneficial. A cut in the shooting was observed and an annual increase of 4.3 percent in their population was observed since late 1970s.

NOAA is yet to assess the final results of the public comments and take the decision of delisting the eastern population of the Steller sea lion. The administration will publish a post-delisting monitoring plan to keep an eye on the activities of the eastern Steller sea lions for their safety and protection for the next decade.