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Early in 1983, Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Gulf of 

 California harbor porpoise as "threatened" under the Endangered 

 Species Act. To aid in its review of the petition, the 

 Service on 3 June 1983 solicited additional information and 

 comments on the biological status of the species. 



The Commission, in consultation with its Committee of 

 Scientific Advisors, reviewed available information on the 

 status of the population and potential threats to its 

 survival and, by letter of 14 September, recommended that 

 the Service list the species "endangered." In support of 

 its recommendation, the Commission noted that: available 

 information suggests both the range and population size of 

 the species are extremely small; the species has been, and 

 may still be, taken incidentally in the course of local 

 fisheries; the ecology of the northern Gulf of California 

 may have been altered significantly in recent decades due to 

 severely reduced fresh-water discharges from rivers; and it 

 would seem that the potential exists for extinction of the 

 species throughout its limited range. 



At the end of 1983, the Service was reviewing the 

 petition and the responses to its request for information. 

 Results of this review were expected to be published early 

 in 1984. 



Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) 



The Guadalupe fur seal is named for its primary pupping 

 and breeding site, the Isla de Guadalupe, 14 miles west of 

 Baja California, and is rarely observed outside the area. 

 Its past distribution and historical population level are 

 unknown because of the failure of early observers to distinguish 

 it from the northern fur seal. Both species are valued for 

 their fur, and the Guadalupe fur seal was so heavily exploited 

 in the early 1900s that, by mid-century, it was thought to 

 be near extinction. Some commercial harvest continued and 

 occasional animals were sighted during the first half of the 

 20th century. It was not until a breeding colony was 

 discovered on Isla de Guadalupe in 1954, however, that there 

 was any hope for the species' survival. The current population 

 is estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 animals and approximately 200 

 pups are produced annually. The estimate includes the few 

 individuals which have been sighted on the Channel Islands 

 off southern California in recent years. 



