MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



of certain major sea lion rookeries in Alaska, and 

 within 20 nmi of major rookeries in the Gulf of 

 Alaska and eastern Aleutian Islands to protect sea lion 

 foraging areas, and (4) adjust time and area alloca- 

 tions to prevent concentrated fishing effort in foraging 

 areas beyond the no-trawl zones around major haul- 

 out sites. In 1993 the Service extended critical habitat 

 designation to include all major rookeries and adjacent 

 waters under U.S. jurisdiction. The designated areas 

 include waters within 20 nmi of major rookeries and 

 haul-out sites west of Cape Suckling, and within 3 

 runi east of Cape Suckling. Three pelagic foraging 

 areas also were designated as critical habitat in 1993. 

 They are the Shelikof Strait area in the Gulf of 

 Alaska, the Bogoslof area on the Bering Sea shelf, 

 and the area incorporating Seguam Pass. Specific 

 boundaries for these foraging areas are given in the 

 Service's Federal Registernotice of 27 August 1993. 



Despite these efforts, the species' decline in the 

 western portion of its range has continued. Recent 

 efforts to address this situation are described below. 



Steller Sea Lion Status under 

 the Endangered Species Act 



When Steller sea lions were designated as endan- 

 gered under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, the 

 designation applied throughout their range and treated 

 the species as a single population. It is now known 

 that the species is composed of at least two distinct 

 stocks, one east and one west of 144°W longitude, 

 near Cape Suckling, in the north central Gulf of 

 Alaska. Research initiated by the Service has docu 

 mented genetic differences between the eastern and 

 western stocks. The results indicate that there is little 

 exchange of animals between rookeries and haul-out 

 sites east and west of Cape Suckling. With the ex- 

 ception of a decline in Steller sea lion numbers at 

 their southernmost rookeries in California, the eastern 

 stock appears to be relatively stable or increasing 

 slightly. Based on 1996 census data, there are at least 

 30,400 animals (including pups) in the eastern stock. 

 This is a minimum estimate because no correction was 

 made for animals missed because they were at sea. 

 The western stock of Steller sea lions has experienced 

 steady declines (Table 4). 



During the 1998 survey, a total of 28,714 non- 

 pups were counted in the Gulf of Alaska (12,229) and 

 the Bering Sea (16,415). The counts for the Gulf of 

 Alaska were incomplete because only 3 of the 25 sites 

 in the eastern gulf were surveyed during 1998. These 

 three sites are major rookeries and included a majority 

 of the animals counted in the sub-area during the 1994 

 and 1996 surveys (52 and 60 percent, respectively). 

 As a result, the estimate of the number of non-pups is 

 conservative. Combining the pup count (9,353) and 

 non-pup count data (28,714) results in a minimum 

 abundance estimate of 38,067 Steller sea lions in the 

 western U.S. stock in 1998. 



In light of what is now known of Steller sea lion 

 stock structure, the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Team 

 and the Marine Mammal Commission recommended 

 that the Service revise the species' listing under the 

 Endangered Species Act to more accurately reflect the 

 east-west stock division. The Service agreed that the 

 change was warranted, and on 4 October 1995 it 

 published a proposed rule in the Federal Register 

 designating the stock west of 144°W longitude as 

 endangered, while maintaining the threatened status 

 for the stock east of this line. On 5 May 1997 the 

 Service published final rules confirming these chang- 

 es, effective 4 June 1997. In doing so, the Service 

 noted that it did not appear necessary to modify 

 designated critical habitat for Steller sea lions or 

 existing protection measures. The Service did, 

 however, indicate that it was taking steps to reassess 

 the effectiveness of existing protective measures with 

 a view toward improving them. 



Section 7 Consultations on 



Atka Mackerel and Walleye Pollock Fisheries 



Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 

 requires that every federal agency ensure that any 

 action it authorizes, funds, or carries out is not likely 

 to jeopardize the continued existence of any listed 

 species or result in the destruction or adverse modifi 

 cation of its critical habitat. The development and 

 implementation of fisheries management plans by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service and Fishery Man- 

 agement Councils established pursuant to the Magnu- 

 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

 Act constitute such actions. If it is deemed that an 



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