June 16, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Endangered Species Act provides a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species, habitats, and the ecosystems upon which they depend across Alaska and the country. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Act.

The Endangered Species Act has put many species on the path to recovery. Since it was enacted in 1973, no marine species has gone extinct. Less than 1 percent of all ESA-listed species (marine, anadromous, and terrestrial) have gone extinct. Others, like the eastern distinct population segment of Steller sea lions and the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales, have recovered.

Enacted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act continues to be a powerful and effective tool for focusing conservation efforts and preserving the diversity of the planet. In celebration of this momentous anniversary, we are highlighting the species we work to protect in Alaska.

Beluga Whale (Cook Inlet DPS): Endangered

Listed: 2008

Beluga whales are highly social, gregarious animals found in Arctic and subarctic waters. They weigh around 3,150 pounds, reach 16 feet long, and can live up to 90 years. One of the most vocal of all whales, with their chirps and squeals, belugas are often called “sea canaries.” They can swim backwards and change the shape of their “melon” forehead by blowing air into their sinuses. Cook Inlet beluga whales are the smallest of the other distinct populations of beluga whales. They face threats from human interactions, habitat constraint, climate change, human-caused noise, predation, and prey limitations. The population’s rapid decline, dire status, and the fact the population is not recovering makes it a priority for NOAA Fisheries. Cook Inlet beluga whales are one of NOAA Fisheries’ Species in the Spotlight—considered the most at risk of extinction in the near future.

Blue Whale (Eastern North Pacific Population): Endangered

Listed: 1970

Blue whales are the largest animal ever recorded on earth. They  weigh up to 330,000 pounds, reach 100 feet, and can live up to 90 years. Everything about blue whales is large! They have a 400-pound heart and a tongue as big as an elephant. They have the biggest calves on the planet, which weigh almost 9,000 pounds at birth and gain 200 pounds a day. The biggest blue whales may eat up to 12,000 pounds of krill a day, straining huge volumes of water through their baleen plates. Blue whale calls can travel up to 1,000 miles underwater. The Eastern North Pacific population faces threats from entanglement in fishing gear, ocean noise, and vessel strikes.

Bowhead Whale (Western Arctic Stock): Endangered

Listed: 1970

Bowhead whales may live more than 200 years, the longest lifespan of all mammals. They can weigh 200,000 pounds and reach 62 feet. Bowhead whales are one of the few whale species that reside almost exclusively in Arctic and subarctic waters. Their name stems from their immense bow-shaped heads that are used to break through 2-foot-thick sea ice. The Western Arctic stock faces threats from climate change, contaminants, entanglement in fishing gear, ocean noise, offshore oil and gas development, predation, and vessel strikes.

Fin Whale (North Pacific Population): Endangered

Listed: 1970

Fin whales are the second largest whale species. As the fastest of all baleen whales sustaining speeds as high as 23 miles per hour, they have been nicknamed the “greyhound of the sea.” They are also sometimes referred to as razorbacks due to their small pointed dorsal fin and shape of their back. They can weigh up to 160,000 pounds, reach 85 feet long, and live 80 to 90 years. A fin whale uses 50 to 100 accordion-like throat pleats to gulp large amounts of food and water and eats about 4,000 pounds of food daily. The North Pacific population faces threats from climate change, entanglement in fishing gear, lack of prey due to overfishing, ocean noise, and vessel strikes.

June 16, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Steller sea lions were named for Georg Wilhelm Steller, a German surgeon and naturalist who first documented the species in 1742. They were once so abundant throughout the North Pacific that Indigenous peoples and settlers throughout the coastal North Pacific Ocean used them for meat, hides, and oil. The species still plays an important role to Alaska Natives for food and handicrafts.

Found in colder temperate to subarctic waters of the North Pacific Ocean from

California to Japan, Steller sea lions mate and give birth on land at breeding sites called rookeries, typically coming back each year to mate at their native rookery site. They also haul out to rest on beaches, ledges, rocky reefs, and on sea ice. While most are typically found in coastal waters on the continental shelf, they sometimes forage in much deeper continental slope waters, especially during the non-breeding season.

In 1997, Steller sea lions were formally split into two distinct population segments due to differences in their genetics, body size and shape, and population trends. Under the Endangered Species Act, the western DPS was listed as endangered and the eastern DPS remained listed as threatened.

Listing History

In the decades leading up to the species’ listing, there were unexplained and widespread population declines of more than 80 percent. These declines had spread to previously stable rookeries and were accelerating—so much so that 18 organizations petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list the species under the Endangered Species Act. The Act protects more than 160 marine and anadromous species and has been overwhelmingly successful in preventing their extinction during the last 50 years. It has also put many species on the path to recovery.

On November 26, 1990, NOAA Fisheries listed Steller sea lions as a threatened species.

Path to Delisting

In 2010 NOAA Fisheries initiated the first 5-year status review of the eastern DPS of Steller sea lions. The review indicated that three new rookeries had been established in Southeast Alaska since 1990, and the overall abundance of this population had consistently increased at about 3 percent per year throughout its range. This increase is generally attributed to recovery from prior predator-control programs, harvesting, and indiscriminate killing that took place before the animals were protected under the Canadian Fisheries Act of 1970 and the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

We officially delisted this population on November 4, 2013; the western DPS remains endangered.

The Endangered Species Act continues to be a powerful and effective tool for focusing conservation efforts and preserving the diversity of the planet.

Continued Recovery Efforts

We implemented a post-delisting monitoring plan for eastern DPS Steller sea lions to ensure their continued recovery. As part of this monitoring plan, NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game research and monitor:

• Population trends through aerial surveys
• Survival and birth rates through resight surveys
• Movements and distribution of marked Steller sea lions
• Diet and foraging behavior
• Climate change impacts

NOAA Fisheries’ scientific expertise drives innovative tools, technologies, and policies to meet ever-evolving endangered species conservation and recovery challenges. We now have a method to remotely sedate and disentangle Steller sea lions. We are currently working on testing a new deterrent device to reduce fishery interactions between Steller sea lions and salmon hook-and-line fisheries. We have also increased our outreach efforts to reduce illegal feeding and shooting, and prevent entanglements.

Continued research helps NOAA Fisheries understand the role of Steller sea lions in the marine ecosystem and inform management decisions for their conservation.

Learn more about Steller sea lion protection measures.