The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) conducts research on marine mammals important to the mission of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends.  Information is provided to various domestic and international organizations to assist in developing rational and appropriate management regimes for marine resources under NOAA's jurisdiction. These organizations include the NMFS Alaska and Northwest Regional Offices, the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the International Whaling Commission, and the Arctic Council. 

Research conducted by NMML utilizes a variety of methods and tools to obtain needed information. Determination of status and trends of marine mammal populations requires information on abundance, stock structure, mortality and net productivity. To obtain these data, censuses are carried out from ships, aircraft and on land. Radio and satellite-linked telemetry is utilized to determine movements and migrations, critical feeding areas and depths, and other behavioral data. Sophisticated analyses and modeling are carried out to determine necessary population parameters. Research programs are carried out cooperatively with many other federal, state and private sector collaborators.

Quarterly Reports

• Northern Fur Seal Research in Alaska
  
• Passive Acoustic Monitoring
  
• Review of Ribbon Seal Status
  
• Biodiversity and Evolutionary Empiricism: A Systemic Approach to Fisheries Management
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research, Summer 2008
  
• Northern Fur Seal, Summer 2008
  
• PRIEST (Pacific Right Whale Evaluation Study) July-August, 2008
  
• Laser Morphometrics of Alaska Killer Whales
  
• AFSC Molecular Ecology Research Laboratory
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Conducted from the USCG Icebreaker Polar Sea, 6-27 April 2008
  
• Gray Whale Counts in January 2008
  
• Bowhead Whale Feeding Ecology Study
  
• Comanagement Activities with Alaska Native Organizations
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
• 2007 Steller Sea Lion Survey Results
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Satellite Tagging Humpbacks in the South Pacific: Windows on the Whales' World
  
• Bogoslof Island Northern Fur Seal Research
  
• Steller Sea Lion Pup Survey
  
• Resight Surveys for Branded Steller Sea Lions
  
• Beluga Whales in Northern Cook Inlet, Alaska, August 2007
  
• Harbor Seal Census in Southeast Alaska
  
• Tests of New Sampling Technique to Track Harbor Seal Populations in Alaska Fjords
  
• The Dynamics of Hookworm Disease in Northern Fur Seals
  
• Steller Sea Lion Research
  
• Northern Fur Seal Update
  
• Cook Inlet Beluga Survey, June 2007
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Aboard the USCG Healy and the Oscar Dyson, 10 April - 18 June 2007
  
• Telemetry of Ice Seals Captured During the USCG Healy and Oscar Dyson Research Cruises in the Eastern Bering Sea
  
• Marine Science in Alaska Symposium
  
• Northern Fur Seal Research Update
  
• Gray Whale Census in 2006/07
  
• Beluga Conference in Valencia, Spain
  
• Winter Whale Surveys in Kodiak, Alaska
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
• Workshops to Identify Critical Information Gaps About Marine Mammals in Areas of Interest to the Oil/Gas Industry
  
• Evaluation of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Cetacean Monitoring
  
• Outreach and Education (orca whale curriculum for grade schools)
  
• Winter Behavior Studies of Young Northern Fur Seals
  
• Habitat Use and Seasonal Movements of Bearded Seals in Kotzebue Sound
  
• Workshops and Meetings
  
• Decline of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet
  
• Satellite Telemetry Describes First Migratory Movement of South Pacific Humpback Whales to Their Feeding Grounds
  
• Field Work (Granite Canyon gray whale census)
  
• San Miguel Island Field Work
  
• Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory quaterly reports

Publications

• FOWLER, C. W. 2009. Systemic management: Sustainable human interactions with ecosystems and the biosphere. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 295 p. (Appendices, .pdf, 62.8 KB).  Online.
  
• FEWSTER, R. M., S. T. BUCKLAND, K. P. BURNHAM, D. L. BORCHERS, P. E. JUPP, J. L. LAAKE, and L. THOMAS. 2009. Estimating the encounter rate variance in distance sampling. Biometrics 65:225-236. 
  
• YANO, K. M., J. Y. TINGG, and C. W. FOWLER. 2009. Northern fur seal rookery photo archive: Aerial and ground-level photos, Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 1895 - 2006. AFSC Processed Rep. 2009-03, 62 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. (.pdf, 4.3 MB).  Online.
  
• FOWLER, C. W., T. E. JEWELL, and M. V. LEE. 2009. Harvesting young-of-the-year from large mammal populations: an application of systemic management. U. S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo., NMFS-AFSC-192, 65 p. (.pdf, 1 MB).  Online.
  
• FOWLER, C. W., and M. A. ETNIER. 2008. Sustainability, p. 1131-1134. In W. F. Perrin, B. Wursig, and J. G. M. Thewissen (editors), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2nd. ed.). Academic Press, San Diego, CA. 
  
• TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, J. R. THOMASON, K. A. CALL, T. K. ZEPPELIN, and R. CARUSO. 2008. Mass, length, and sex ratios of northern fur seal pups on the Pribilof Islands, 2006, p. 26-40. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2006-2007. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188. 
  
• TOWELL, R. G., R. R. REAM, C. W. FOWLER, J. T. STERLING, L. W. FRITZ, and J. L. BENGTSON. 2008. Population assessment of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, 2006-2007, p. 8-25. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2006-2007. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188. 
  
• TESTA, J. W. 2008. Introduction, p. 1-7. In J. W. Testa (editor), Fur Seal Investigations, 2006-2007. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-188. 
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Publications

Posters

• The Role of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Monitoring Ice-Associated Seals
  By:  ERIN E. MORELAND, MICHAEL F. CAMERON, PETER L. BOVENG, JOSH M. LONDON, LISA HIRUKI-RARING
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 1.92MB)   Online.
  
• A Comprehensive Approach for Estimating Harbor Seal Abundance in Alaska
  By:  JOSH M. LONDON, PETER L. BOVENG, JAY M. VER HOEF, JOHN K. JANSEN, KYMBERLY M. YANO, LUCIANA SANTOS
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 1.21MB)   Online.
  
• Seasonal Movements, Habitat Selection, Foraging and Haul-out Behavior of Adult Bearded Seals in the Chukchi Sea
  By:  MICHAEL F. CAMERON, PETER L. BOVENG, JAY M. Ver HOEF, HEATHER L. ZIEL
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 4.26MB)   Online.
  
• Recent Counts of Freshwater Seals in Alaska's Lake Iliamna
  By:  DAVID E. WITHROW, KYMBERLY M. YANO
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 7.45MB)   Online.
  
• Bowhead Whale Feeding Ecology Study (BOWFEST) Aerial Surveys: a Comparison of Bowhead Whale Distribution and Survey Effort in 2007 and 2008 in the Vicinity of Barrow, Alaska
  By:  KIMBERLY T. GOETZ, DAVID J. RUGH, JULIE A. MOCKLIN
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 8.32MB)   Online.
  
• Encounters of Marine Mammals in theWaters of Southwestern Bering Sea
  By:  OKSANA V. SAVENKO, TATIANA S. SHULEZHKO, KARINA K. TARASYAN, VLADIMIR N. BURKANOV
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 5.0MB)   Online.
  
• Cetacean Distribution in the Bering Sea in the Spring and Summer 2008
  By:  NANCY A. FRIDAY, ALEXANDRE N. ZERBINI, JANICE M. WAITE, AMY S. KENNEDY, BRENDA K. RONE, PHILLIP J. CLAPHAM, SUE E. MOORE
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 3.66MB)   Online.
  
• A Cooperative Pollock Acoustic Biomass Survey for Management of Fisheries Interactions with Steller Sea Lions in the Aleutian Islands
  By:  ELIZABETH LOGERWELL, STEVE BARBEAUX, LOWELL FRITZ
  Conference:  Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2009
  (2009 poster, .pdf, 644KB)   Online.
  
Additional National Marine Mammal Laboratory Posters