State Petitions For Removal of Sea Lions from ESA

9/2/2010

The state of Alaska joined Washington and Oregon to petition the National Marine Fisheries Service for the removal of the eastern population segment of Stellar sea lions from the list of species protected by the Endangered Species Act. Yesterday, Attorney General Dan Sullivan explained the Parnell administration’s stance. He said this stock has improved dramatically.

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Sullivan said the threats facing these sea lions have been addressed and they no longer exist. Sullivan said, if this petition is approved, the issues that come with the ESA are gone, too.

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The State of Alaska also submitted comments on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s recent draft biological opinion and associated environmental assessment on the impact of federal groundfish fisheries on the health of the Western Stellar Sea lions. The state disagrees with the National Marine Fisheries Service. It opposes the call for substantial curtailment of commercial fisheries in the Western Aleutian Islands. Sullivan said these measures are simply not necessary given the overall health of the population.