According to the news report the fishing industry of Alaska is waiting for more information to decide whether restrictions might be imposed to protect sea lions in prime fishing grounds. It is said that in November the scientists will unveil a draft biological opinion on proposed changes to rules for fishing fleets in parts of the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea.
Doug DeMaster, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau, said that the draft opinion will incorporate all new research from the past five years. He added that overall, the numbers from 2000 to 2008 show there is not a strong trend, and in fact, there is the appearance of a sea lion increase.
Scientists also are factoring in the role killer whales play in preventing sea lion recovery. DeMAster told that most of the people have thought for a long time that killer whales and predation is an important source of sea lion mortality. Markus Horning, the team leader, admitted that identifying the actual predators is a bit of guesswork, but said only a couple of species are known to prey on sea lions and are common where the five tags went off.
