April 9, 2026 — The Center for Biological Diversity argues in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the federal government is hurting the northern fur seals population by allowing a fishery to compete for its sustenance.
The center, in its suit filed in the District of Alaska, says northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands have been in decline for years. It points to a commercial pollock trawl fishery as a main reason, as the seals rely on pollock for their food.
Compounding that problem is a March 10 decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which placed no restrictions on the fishery’s operations. That failure by the service violated a handful of federal laws, including the Fur Seal Act, the center says.
“NMFS’ authorization of the fishery without measures in place to address prey competition causes unlawful take of northern fur seals and is therefore arbitrary and capricious,” it adds.
The center asks a judge to find that the service violated the Fur Seal Act and the Administrative Procedure Act by allowing the fishery to operate in a manner that negatively affects the seals. It wants the service to perform an additional environmental impact statement on the fishery that considers information about the harm the seals face.
It also asks for a judge to stop the service from allowing fishing that hurts the seals.