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NOAA FISHERIES SOLICITS PROPOSALS FOR
STELLER SEA LION RESEARCH
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the Commerce department, announced that the largest research funds ever for Steller sea lion research is now available. A total of $15 million is being provided to assist eligible individuals and groups carry out research into the causes of the decline in the Steller sea lion population off Alaska.
Appropriations for Steller sea lion research are the ten times greater than funding in previous years," said Jim Balsiger, Alaska regional administrator for NOAA fisheries. "The amount set aside for non-federal research represents the largest portion of the available funds The program has been designed to give stakeholders a significant role in the selection of viable research projects."
This research initiative supports development of a) conservation and protective measures., b) adaptive fishery management strategies in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries, and c) long-term research efforts to determine the causes of decline, advance ecosystem-based knowledge of the species, and improve research technologies. Applications for funding under this program are due by 5 p.m. Alaska standard time on April 23, 2001.
To help prioritize research needs, NOAA Fisheries consulted with a variety of government and non-government agencies including, the National Ocean Service, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, the Alaska SeaLife Center, the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the University of Alaska, and the state of Alaska regarding developing research areas.
The areas of research priority include:
1) available prey species;
2) predator/prey relationships;
3) interactions between fisheries and Steller sea lions, including localized depletion theory;
4) regime shift, climate change, and other impacts associated with changing environmental conditions in the North Pacific and Bering Sea;
5) disease;
6) juvenile and pup survival rates;
7) population counts;
8) nutritional stress;
9) foreign commercial harvest of Steller sea lions outside the exclusive economic zone;
10) residual impacts of former government-authorized Steller sea lion eradication bounty programs; and
11) study of feasibility for development of innovative non-lethal methods to protect Steller sea lions from marine mammal predation, including killer whales.
For information on eligibility, a copy of the Federal Register notice announcing the program, and an application package, please see the SSLRI website: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/omi/grants/sslri/, or contact Peter Jones at (907) 586-7280 or Peter.D.Jones@noaa.gov.
NOAA fisheries conducts scientific research and provides services and products to support domestic and international fisheries management, fisheries development, trade and industry assistance, enforcement, and protected species and habitat conservation programs.
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