Pitcher et al.; Abundance and distribution of Eumetopios /ubatus 



107 



the rate of growth observed on rookeries. During the 

 2002 survey, 6681 nonpups were counted on haulout 

 sites, and another 5439 on rookeries (Table 1). 



Washington 



There are no rookeries in Washington, but Stellar sea 

 lions are found along the coast throughout the year. 

 Four haulouts, including two major sites (>50 animals), 

 are regularly used during the breeding season. Since 

 1989, surveys have been conducted almost annually, 

 and numbers of sea lions counted have increased at an 

 average annual rate of 9.2% (r'-=0.38; n = 37\ P<0.001). 

 These animals are assumed to be immature animals 

 and nonbreeding adults associated with rookeries from 

 other areas. Juvenile sea lions branded as pups on For- 

 rester Island in southeastern Alaska (Raum-Suryan et 

 al., 2002) and on Rogue Reef in Oregon (R. F. Brown, 

 unpubl. data) have been observed in Washington. 



Older records indicate that current abundance on 

 the Washington coast is reduced from historical lev- 

 els (Fig. 4C). Between 2000 and 3000 Steller sea li- 

 ons were reported to be present during August and 

 September of 1914, 1915, and 1916 on Jagged Island 

 (Kenyon and Scheffer, 1959), compared with a maxi- 

 mum statewide breeding season count of 847 during 

 1978-2001. Washington State Department of Fisher- 

 ies offered a bounty of $8.00 for sea lions between 

 1944-48, but in 1949 this was reduced to $3.00 and 

 limited to inside waters because aerial patrols indi- 

 cated that the main coastal haulouts at Jagged Island 

 and Split Rock had been reduced from 600 sea lions in 

 the 1930s to fewer than 100 by 1949 (Scheffer, 1950). 

 Only sporadic counts were available for individual 

 sites during the 1950s and 1960s, but they indicate 

 that few sea lions (<100 animals) were present during 

 the breeding season and that total abundance did not 

 exceed 500 during any season by the 1950s (Scheffer, 

 1950; Kenyon and Scheffer, 1959). 



Oregon 



Steller sea lions breed and pup at two rookeries, 

 located at Rogue Reef and Orford Reef, and occupy 

 seven major haulout sites in Oregon during the breed- 

 ing season. The total number of nonpup sea lions 

 on rookeries increased from 1186 in 1977 to 2442 

 in 2002 (Fig. 3C), representing an average annual 

 rate of increase of 2.5% (r2 = 0.49; n=26: P<0.001). 

 Although not as well documented, pup numbers also 

 appear to have increased. In 1990, 492 and 298 pups 

 were observed during ground counts at Rouge Reef and 

 Orford Reef respectively, compared with 746 and 382 

 pups on 126 mm format images in 2002 (2.3% average 

 annual rate of increase). During the 2002 population- 

 wide survey, an additional 1727 nonpups were counted 

 at haulout sites in Oregon (Table 2). 



Historical data on Steller sea lion abundance in Oregon 

 are few (Fig. 4D). Pearson and Verts (1970) counted 862 

 animals (including some pups) during a state-wide aerial 



1905 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 



Year 



Figure 4 



Historical counts over the last century of Steller sea lion 

 {Eumetopias jubatus) pups (O), non-pups on rookeries (•), 

 and total nonpups on rookeries and haulouts (A) for (A) 

 Southeastern Alaska, (B) British Columbia, (C) Washington, 

 (D) Oregon, and (E) California. 



survey in June 1968, somewhat lower than the 1977 

 nonpup count of 1461 animals. The largest rookery was 

 Orford Reef, where 475 animals, including pups, were 

 counted. Interestingly, only 125 animals were reported 

 at Rogue Reef, which is currently the largest rookery in 

 Oregon, and Pearson and Verts (1970) suggested that 

 it was no longer used as a rookery. Earlier counts are 

 lacking, but the population was presumably substantially 

 larger in the 1920s because about 4000 sea lions were 



