‘No jeopardy’ to Steller sea lions, according to NMFS

A new biological opinion (BiOp) released by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has cleared the way for regulatory changes in the western Aleutian Islands, where heavy restrictions on commercial fishing were put in place in 2011 to protect Steller sea lions.

The 281-page BiOp found that changes proposed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to the current fishing restrictions are not likely to jeopardize the endangered western population of Steller sea lions or negatively affect their critical habitat.

The agency’s previous BiOp, released in 2010, came under intense scrutiny by various fishing groups, the State of Alaska, NMFS’ own Center for Independent Experts, and many industry support groups, including RDC, arguing that NMFS failed to follow correct procedures and lacked scientific support to validate the restrictions when they were handed down.

The new biological opinion was developed based on the best available scientific information and notes that considerable changes have occurred in the Aleutian Islands fisheries, coupled with new data and analyses that help give the agency a better picture of the potential for commercial fisheries to compete with sea lions for Pacific cod, Atka mackerel, and pollock.

“We don’t have any direct scientific evidence that fisheries are causing nutritional stress in Steller sea lions,” according to NMFS fishery management specialist Brenda Gerke, who helped author the new BiOp. “NMFS is still recommending that the fishery be dispersed over a greater amount of time,” Gerke says. “So not going in and catching fish in a very concentrated fashion.”

It is estimated that the proposed fishery management changes would relieve roughly two-thirds of the economic burden imposed on Aleutian Islands’ fishermen by sea lion protection measures. New regulations could be in place as early as January 2015.

“We are grateful that NOAA Fisheries has taken a new updated view of their 2010 decision,” said Thomas Mack, RDC board member and President of Aleut Corporation. “This means increased fishing opportunities especially in Adak and other areas of the Aleutians. I also thank the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for their continuous determination to bring fishing back to the Western Aleutians.”

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