Count of Adult Male Northern Fur Seals on Pribilof Islands Drops

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists have filed their initial report on the count of adult male northern fur seals in the Pribilof Islands, and the initial count shows lower numbers overall.

"The studies to obtain a current northern fur seal pup estimate will continue through about August 27," said Dr. Tom Loughlin, the Alaska Ecosystem Program Leader for the National Marine Mammal Laboratory at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center. "It will take us a couple weeks after that to put together the numbers and derive an estimate for the number of pups born in 2004 on the Pribilofs ."

"Idle" males--males without harems--on both islands declined in comparison to last year. There was a 33.6% decline on St. Paul and a 21.8% decline on St. George. Loughlin pointed out that the count of idle males this year could be influenced by unusually warm weather that occurred during the time of the census. The idle males might be more likely to stay in the cool water, rather than haul out in the warm air and be counted, as has been observed in the past.

Over the past few decades scientists observing northern fur seals in the Pribilofs have expressed concern that one small rookery, the Little Polovina rookery s have been observed there in the last several years.

Scientists have not produced a current estimate for the total population of northern fur seals in the North Pacific. The estimated total population of northern fur seals for the Eastern Pacific in 2000 was about 888,120, compared to over 2 million between 1940 and 1959.

Loughlin has been involved in northern fur seal counts since 1981. The 2004 adult male northern fur seal count was overseen in the Pribilofs by Dr. Chuck Fowler of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. He had help from an eight-person field crew of individuals who helped at various times: Erica Anderson, Adam Cotton, Mike Etnier, Clifford Kashevarof, Zena Merculief, Jeff Rodin, Sasha Romanenko, and Bill Wilson.

Adam Cotton, following established protocols, produced an estimated entanglement rate of 0.01% for adult female northern fur seals. This is about the same rate of entanglement for the last 13 years.

Figure 1. Temporal dynamics of the counts of adult male northern fur seals on St. Paul and St. George Islands, 1990-2004, showing territorial males with females (filled circles) and idle males (territorial and non-territorial combined, filled triangles).

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