Tag Archives: Steller sea lions
Extremely low cod numbers lead feds to close the Gulf of Alaska fishery for the first time
A stock assessment this fall put Gulf cod populations at a historic low, with “next to no” new eggs, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research biologist Steve Barbeaux, who authored the report. At their current numbers, cod are below the federal threshold that protects them as a food source for endangered Steller sea lions. Once below that line, the total allowable catch goes to zero — in other words, the fishery shuts down. >click to read< 08:32
Alaska Fishermen Sentenced For Killing Endangered Steller Sea Lions
An Alaska salmon boat skipper who killed endangered Steller sea lions with a shotgun and hindered an investigation has been fined $20,000 in federal court. Jon Nichols, 31, of Cordova, was sentenced Tuesday to five years’ probation, three months of home confinement and 400 hours of community service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith also ordered Nichols to publicly apologize in a national commercial fishing magazine. >click to read<17:19
Harvesters charged with killing Stellar sea lions
A commercial fisherman and his deckhand have been charged with harassing and killing 15 Steller sea lions found dead during the opening of the 2015 Copper River salmon fishery. Jon Nichols, 31, of Cordova, captain of the F/V Iron Hide, and deckhand Theodore “Teddy” Turgeon, 21, of Wasilla, are charged with harassing and killing the Steller sea lions with shotguns and then making false statements and obstructing the government’s investigation into their criminal activities, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Anchorage said April 19. >click to read<09:14
Sea lions hinder salmon conservation
California and Steller sea lions took a bigger bite out of last year’s salmon run than in any previous year, according to a new federal report. 2015 saw a bigger run, with more than 239,000 chinook and steelhead migrating past Bonneville Dam. That year, the total number of salmon that sea lions ate was he largest ever recorded. The Army Corps of Engineers recorded more than 260 sea lions eating more than 10,000 fish from January to June 2015. The 2016 salmon run was far smaller, but the sea lions’ appetite for salmon didn’t shrink much. They still ate more than 9,500 fish, nearly 6 percent of the run. That’s the largest share of the run eaten by the large marine mammals since Army Corps scientists started watching 15 years ago. Read the rest here 12:43
Enviro Lawyer Lawsuit Filed to Protect Endangered Steller Sea Lions AGAIN!
“We have been forced back to court once again by an agency that appears intent on sacrificing healthy ocean ecosystems for short-term economic gain,” said Michael LeVine, Pacific Senior Counsel for Oceana. “We hoped that the Fisheries Service would show the leadership needed to find long–term, sustainable solutions, but instead, we find ourselves back in court to defend the basic premise that sea lions need fish caught by industrial fisheries to survive.” Read the rest here 10:58
Study: Sleeper sharks may kill Steller sea lions
Scientists researching the severe decline in Alaska’s Steller sea lion population have a fingered a new possible suspect for the drop: Pacific sleeper sharks, a species previously thought of as a scavenger and fish-eater. The cause is unknown. Among the theories are a change in fish population because of global warming or competition from commercial fisherman. The theory of mortality from predators, Horning said, has “fallen by the wayside.” Read the rest here 19:52
New Fisheries Might Be Headed to Unalaska
Next year will likely bring new fisheries to the western Aleutian Islands, now that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued its final report on the way commercial fishing affects an endangered population of Steller sea lions. Read the rest here 07:08
Sept 22, 2014, Public Meeting- Designation of Critical Habitat for Steller Sea Lions – Listen via Webinar
The first meeting,September 22, 2014 at the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA 98115, in the Jim Traynor Conference Room. NMFS will make this meeting available by webinar. Pertinent information about this webinar is as follows: Information, link, and password to the webinar, Click here 17:45
NMFS Nears New Steller Sea Lion Restrictions
The new year will likely bring new fisheries to the western Aleutian Islands, now that the National Marine Fisheries Service has issued its final report on the way commercial fishing affects an endangered population of Steller sea lions. Read more here 07:00
NMFS clears commercial fishing in sea lion habitat – Not if, but, When will Oceana sue?
After a research review, the NMFS is prepared to loosen controversial limits on commercial fishing in the western Aleutian Islands. That has cleared NMFS to open more fishing grounds in the western Aleutians, as early as next year. Michael LeVine says that’s pretty sudden. LeVine is a lawyer for Oceana, Read more here ktoo.org 12:37
Fishing does not threaten sea lions in Aleutians, says new NOAA Bi-Op
Proposed changes to fishing restrictions in the Aleutian Islands are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the endangered western population of Steller sea lions or adversely modify Steller sea lion critical habitat, according to a biological opinion issued today by NOAA Fisheries under the Endangered Species Act. Read more here Laine Welch 15:50
The Eastern Population Segment of Steller Sea Lions Will be Removed from the Endangered List
The eastern population segment includes Steller sea lions from Cape Suckling south to the Channel Islands in California. As part of the delisting NOAA has created a post-delisting plan that will be place for the next 10-years. NOAA confirms that the delisting of the eastern Steller sea lion population will take effect 30-days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register. more@kdlg 22:40
Ninth Circuit Hears Steller Sea Lion Appeal – Unalaska Community Broadcasting – KUCB 89.7 FM – Channel 8
For years and years, a legal battle has been raging over the endangered western stock of Steller sea lions. That battle finally made its way to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week. The State of Alaska and the Freezer Longline Coalition petitioned to overturn a lower court ruling that said the National Marine Fisheries Service was justified in restricting fishing in order to protect the sea lions. http://kucb.org/news/article/ninth-circuit-hears-steller-sea-lion-appeal/
Vessel replacement, Steller sea lions and crab on menu. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets Oct. 3-9 in Anchorage
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which meets Oct. 3-9 in Anchorage, is poised to act on a vessel replacement plan, as well as discuss Steller sea lions and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab and groundfish fisheries. Halibut management and observation will also be on the table.
The council is slated for final action on a vessel replacement program for freezer longline licenses authorized for Pacific cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
