As a related matter, however, the United States concluded 

 agreements in 1989 with Japan, Taiwan, and Korea to monitor the 

 take of marine resources, including North Pacific fur seals, in 

 the high seas driftnet fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean. 

 Those agreements are discussed in Chapter VII. In addition, the 

 United States put forward, but later withdrew, a proposal to list 

 the North Pacific fur seal on Appendix II to the Convention on 

 International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 

 Flora. This proposal is discussed further in Chapter V. 



Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias nubatus) 



Steller sea lions (also called northern sea lions) inhabit 

 coastal areas around the northern rim of the North Pacific Ocean 

 from the Channel Islands in southern California to northern 

 Hokkaido, Japan. The largest pupping colonies occur in the Gulf 

 of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Available information 

 indicates that Steller sea lions have declined substantially 

 since the late 1970s in several areas including: the Kurile and 

 Commander Islands; the Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands, 

 Bristol Bay, and the central and western Gulf of Alaska; and the 

 California Channel Islands. 



In December 1986, the National Marine Fisheries Service held 

 a workshop to review the species' status. The results, published 

 in March 1987, indicated that the number of adult and juvenile 

 Steller sea lions at principal haul-out sites in Alaska 

 (including areas from the central Aleutian Islands to the central 

 Gulf of Alaska) declined from about 140,000 animals in 1956-1960 

 to about 68,000 animals in 1985 — a decline of about 52 percent. 

 The greatest decline was in the eastern Aleutian Islands where 

 numbers decreased nearly 80 percent during that period. The 

 cause or causes of the decline were uncertain; however, 

 participants in the 1986 workshop concluded that the decline was 

 likely to continue given reduced juvenile and adult female 

 survival rates. 



During June and July 1989, the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, in cooperation with scientists from the Soviet Union and 

 the State of Alaska, conducted a range-wide survey of Steller sea 

 lions at principal haul-out sites. The survey confirmed that the 

 decline is continuing, that it has spread to virtually all areas 

 except southeast Alaska, and that, in many areas, the rate of 

 decline has increased. At the principal haul-outs in Alaska, 

 counts declined to approximately 25,000 animals — a level 63 

 percent below the 1985 count and 82 percent below the 1956-1960 

 counts. The largest declines again were in the eastern Aleutian 

 Islands where numbers dropped to less than 3,000 animals — 93 

 percent below the 1956-1960 levels. In the central Aleutian 

 Islands, where numbers declined by only 8 percent between the 



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