Biology
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Population Trends and Current Status of the Northern Fur Seal
Northern
fur seals have been hunted commercially both on land and at sea since
the 1780s for their luxurious fur pelts.
Before their discovery and subsequent
exploitation, the size of the population on the Pribilof Islands was
estimated between 2 – 2.5 million animals. The population was
hunted to near extinction, reaching its lowest level of about 300,000
animals in 1911. In 1911 the International North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty
was established between Japan, USSR, Canada and USA that prohibited
pelagic sealing. The Treaty was abrogated by Japan in 1941 and an interim
US – Canadian agreement prohibited pelagic sealing in the eastern
and central North Pacific Ocean during 1942 – 1957. In 1957 an
International Convention was formed to ban pelagic sealing and to begin
intensive scientific research on fur seals, to improve management of
the commercial harvest for pelts.
Under protective management the Pribilof
population grew from 300,000 in 1911 to about 2.1 million in 1957.
The Pribilof population of northern
fur seal has undergone three major population declines since its discovery
in 1786, and is currently declining at a rate of about 6% per year.
The commercial harvest for pelts was terminated in 1972 on St. George
Island and in 1984 on St. Paul Island. The current world population
is approximately 1.1 million animals, with about 919,000 fur seals
breeding on the Pribilof Islands (2000 estimates). The causes of the
current decline are unknown, but may include a combination of environmental
and anthropogenic factors.
