The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $1,856,716 grant to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to fund Steller sea lion recovery investigations. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The grant will support research that will evaluate the hypothesis that the endangered western stock of Steller sea lions is currently declining because of nutritional stress. The study will compare the health, growth and body condition of juvenile sea lions in both the depleted western stock and in the thriving eastern stock in southeast Alaska.

“Research from this NOAA grant will help to identify the causes behind the depletion of western stock of Steller sea lions so we can find ways to reverse the population decline,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant allows the state to research the root of the problem while actively supporting efforts that reinforce NOAA’s and the Bush Administration’s commitment to the environment.”

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA’s goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 34 years.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.