Steller sea lion research coordination: a brief history and summary of recent progress

Abstract

The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), first listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1990, has been the subject of intensive scientific research since a steep population decline was identified in the late 1980s. Research efforts during most of the 1990s were guided by recommendations contained in the Steller Sea Lion Recovery Plan. Research funding for federal agencies during this period was <$1 million (M) annually, of which over half was required for population monitoring surveys. During the late 1990s, Steller sea lion research activities were intensified as recent scientific findings, litigation, and new legislation focused increasing attention on the ongoing decline and concern over possible impacts by commercial fisheries in Alaskan waters. This renewed attention was manifest in a seven-fold increase in funding between 2000 and 2001, with over 125 individual projects planned or implemented. A wide spectrum of research entities were engaged in these studies, including federal and state agencies, universities and non-governmental research organizations. In cooperation with the entities that received federal funding, the National Marine Fisheries Service developed a research coordination framework to clarify the context of individual research projects, to show their relationships to each other and to link them to the underlying hypotheses that might explain the continued decline of Steller sea lions. This paper summarizes the evolution of Steller sea lion research over the past two decades and describes the development of a comprehensive and coordinated program that responds to Congressional intent.


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