A listing of Pacific harbor seals in Iliamna Lake as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted at this time, NOAA Fisheries officials said on Nov. 16.
The seals do not constitute a species as defined by the ESA and thus do not meet criteria for listing under that act, the agency said.
The decision came in the wake of a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity which asserted that the harbor seals in Iliamna Lake should be considered a distinct population segment of Pacific harbor seals because they are discrete from harbor seals in Bristol Bay, and are significant to the species.
The petition asserted that those seals face threats warranting protection under ESA, including proposed mine development, climate change and ocean acidification,
According to NOAA Fisheries, the harbor seals in Iliamna Lake are discrete from, but not ecologically significant to, the Pacific harbor seal subspecies, and thus do not meet the criteria to be classified as a distinct population segment.
There are more than 150,000 harbor seals within Alaska, divided into 12 separate stocks which are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
