Natural History Wanderings

Fur Seals thrive at the Farallones but are in decline in the Alaskan Pribilof Islands

The fur seal population at the Farallones is thriving.   Breeding is successful and a recent survey counted over 180 pups. The seals were hunted due to the attractiveness of the their thick fur.   In the early 1800’s between 100,000 and 150,000 were killed devastating the Farallones seal population.

The Alaskan Pribilof Islands are the breeding grounds for over half of the world’s population of fur seals.   The population declined from 2.5 million to 215,000 by the early 20th century as a result of hunting.  The hunting stopped with the passage of  the International North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 between the United States, Russia, Canada and Japan.  Although the seal population  had started to increase it is again falling in the Probilofs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the  fur seal as “vulnerable,” and the Pribilof colonies are listed as “depleted” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Seals may still be hunted by subsistence hunters. Even with the current protections, the Pribilof  seal colonies the birth rate of seal pups has declined.  Possible threats to the fur seals are pollution, habitat disturbance, climate change, fishing nets, and over-fishing.

Read more in the Bay Citizen Fur Seals Making a Comeback on the Farallones