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22 items match your filter criteria.

Harmful Algal Blooms Linked to Deaths of Northern Fur Seals in the Southeast Bering Sea

Testing confirmed widespread exposure of saxitoxin in marine mammals and other wildlife.
June 04, 2025 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
West Coast
Dead Northern fur seal on St. Paul Island, Alaska. Credit: Paul Melovidov, Ecosystem Conservation Office Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (used with permission). Dead Northern fur seal on St. Paul Island, Alaska. Credit: Paul Melovidov, Ecosystem Conservation Office Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (used with permission).

Is It a Seal or a Sea Lion?

Seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds, but they have distinct characteristics that set them apart. Learn how to recognize a seal vs. a sea lion.
August 12, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Pacific Islands
West Coast
National
Infographic showing illustrated seal and sea lion and describing the differences between the two animals, such as ears, body size, flippers, etc. At first glance, seals (true or “earless seals”) and sea lions look fairly similar. Taking a closer look, these are some of the general differences to tell these animals, such as on the harbor seal (left) and California sea lion (right) pictured above.

2020 and 2021 Combined Report of Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States

This report details marine mammal stranding rates, trends, and activities in the United States for both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 5,400 confirmed marine mammal strandings; in 2021, there were 5,524.
April 03, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Pacific Islands
Southeast
West Coast
National
Two stranding responders carry a stranded harbor porpoise away from some rocks A harbor porpoise is retrieved from the rocks at Odiorne Point State Park, New Hampshire. Credit: Seacoast Science Center

Life on an Active Volcano: Fur Seals Adapt to a Changing Landscape on Bogoslof Island - Part 2

Volcanic eruptions at Bogoslof have changed the landscape dramatically. It’s home to a thriving breeding ground of northern fur seals. Scientists monitor the fur seal population every 4 years to understand how they respond to such a dynamic environment.
March 13, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
Aerial view of Bogoslof Island in June 2022 showing the impact of the volcanic eruption from 2019 Aerial survey imagery from June 2022 along with a white outline showing the former size in 2019. Erosion has changed the island dramatically since it tripled in size after the eruptions in 2016-2017. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Alexey Altukhov and Burlyn Birkemeier.

Life on an Active Volcano: Fur Seals Adapt to a Changing Landscape on Bogoslof Island - Part 1

Biologists return for the first time in 4 years to find that the island and the distribution of northern fur seals was radically different.
March 12, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
Dark brown northern fur seals on the beach of a island with an active smoking volcano in the background Northern fur seal rookery on the shores of Bogoslof Island, an active volcano on the Aleutian chain. In the background, the volcano’s vent steams in this photo from August 2019. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Paul Hillman taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit #14327.

Seal and Sea Lion Week

Join us for a week-long celebration of seals and other pinnipeds and get the scoop on NOAA's seal conservation efforts.
March 11, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
New England/Mid-Atlantic
Pacific Islands
Southeast
West Coast
National
An animation showing several species of seals in their native habitats with the words "Seal & Sea Lion Week" across the top. Seal & Sea Lion Week is March 11-15, 2024.

Public Input Helps Improve our Understanding of Marine Ecological Relationships in Alaska

Critical links identified between young pollock survival and changes in habitat and prey availability over a 60-year timeframe.
February 13, 2024 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
food web for Bering Sea fish and other species, graphic showing connections between species This is a path diagram for the Bering Sea and Aleutians Islands marine ecosystem. It shows linkages between ecosystem variables. Arrows correspond to suspected relationships. An arrow pointing from X to Y indicates that a change in X is estimated to cause a change in Y. The number next to each arrow shows the estimated magnitude of the change (red arrows indicate a negative change and blue arrows indicate a positive change).

Indigenous Scientists on St. Paul Island, Alaska Work To Protect Marine Mammals

Team works independently and in partnership with NOAA Fisheries.
November 30, 2023 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
Laaqudan sleeping near the Aleut Community of St. Paul. Laaqudan sleeping near the Aleut Community of St. Paul. Credit: Jamie Musbach/NOAA Fisheries

50 Years of Protecting Marine Mammals

A look at the Marine Mammal Protection Act's many advancements and accomplishments in the last 50 years.
February 02, 2023 - Podcast ,
National
Pair of bottlenose dolphins Pair of bottlenose dolphins. Credit: NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center/Lisa Morse.

Highlights of Our Seal Research in Alaska as Part of NOAA Fisheries Seal Week

Alaska is home to many species of seals and sea lions. These videos capture some of the important research we are doing in Alaska to better understand and manage seal and sea lion populations.
September 01, 2022 - Feature Story ,
Alaska
4 images in a grid showing photographs of a bearded seal, ringed seal, ribbon seal, and spotted seal.