Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 
energetic status; and (7) implementing the Recovery 
Plan and coordinating recovery activities. 
On 11 April 1991 the Recovery Team recom- 
mended that the National Marine Fisheries Service 
designate all Steller sea lion rookeries and major haul- 
out sites throughout Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and 
California as critical habitat. The Recovery Team 
also identified sites in British Columbia and the Kuril 
Islands for inclusion in the critical habitat designation 
and recommended that the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, through the State Department, work with the 
Governments of Canada and Russia to protect Steller 
sea lion habitat. 
On 13 May 1991 the Commission provided com- 
ments to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the 
draft Recovery Plan. The Commission recommended 
that the Service complete and adopt the plan as 
quickly as possible and immediately begin imple- 
menting it. Comments on the draft plan provided by 
the Commission and others were transmitted to the 
Recovery Team, and on 3 October 1991 the team for- 
warded a revised draft recovery plan to the National 
Marine Fisheries Service. By the end of September 
1992 the Service had not adopted the Recovery Plan 
or designated critical habitat, as recommended by the 
Recovery Team. Therefore, by letter of 29 Septem- 
ber 1992 the Commission requested a status report on 
the Recovery Plan and recommended that the Service 
act promptly to adopt the plan and designate critical 
habitat. 
On 5 October 1992 the Service’s Office of Pro- 
tected Resources advised the Commission that the 
Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan was to be accorded 
the highest priority of all recovery and conservation 
plans then in preparation, and that the Service was 
targeting the plan for approval by the end of October 
and publication by the end of the year. The Commis- 
sion wrote back on 8 October 1992 asking that the 
Service advise it as to what actions it planned to take 
regarding the critical habitat designation and the future 
of the Recovery Team. On 8 October 1992 the Com- 
mission also wrote to the Director of the Service to 
underscore its hope that the schedule for completing 
and adopting the Recovery Plan described in the 
Service’s 5 October 1992 letter would be met. 
37 
On 30 December 1992 the Service approved and 
adopted the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan. It is 
expected to be available in January 1993. 
During the summer of 1992 the National Marine 
Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department of Fish 
and Game conducted aerial surveys of Steller sea lions 
throughout their range in Alaska. By memorandum of 
1 October 1992 the chairman of the Recovery Team 
advised the team members of the results of the sur- 
veys. The memorandum noted that the survey results 
indicated that sea lion numbers continued to decline in 
1992 (see Table 4). 
A number of research and management efforts, in 
addition to the aerial surveys noted above, were 
initiated or continued in 1992. On 9-10 November 
1992 a meeting was held at the National Marine 
Mammal Laboratory in Seattle to review these efforts. 
The meeting included representatives of the Marine 
Mammal Commission, the Steller Sea Lion Recovery 
Team, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the 
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Oregon 
Department of Fish and Wildlife, Canada’s Depart- 
ment of Fisheries and Oceans, and several university 
researchers. 
With respect to research, meeting participants 
noted the success of ongoing efforts, including use of 
Satellite tracking to locate possible feeding areas; 
genetic and physiological studies to determine stock 
discreteness and food requirements; hydro-acoustic 
and trawl studies to determine, among other things, 
potential prey and the depths at which pups and 
juvenile sea lions may feed; and the use of a geo- 
graphic information system for data management. 
Participants also noted informational and educational 
efforts planned or underway, including identifying 
no-fishing zones around Steller sea lion rookeries on 
charts produced by the National Oceanic and Atmos- 
pheric Administration and the Federal Aviation 
Administration; a newsletter on research and manage- 
ment efforts to be published by the National Marine 
Mammal Laboratory; radio and video news stories, 
public service announcements, a feature video story, 
posters, and a calendar to be produced by the Alaska 
Department of Fish and Game; information on the 
Steller sea lion situation to be included in commercial 
fisheries regulation booklets, also produced by the 
