2022 Northern Fur Seal Pup Production Estimate and Adult Male Counts on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Numbers of northern fur seal pups were estimated using a mark-recapture method, shear-sampling, on the Pribilof Islands during August 2022. To minimize disturbance, dead pup counts were conducted at 4 sample rookeries on St. Paul Island and 3 sample rookeries on St. George Island. Since 2006 this dead pup counting procedure resulted in a ratio estimation protocol for the calculation of the estimate of the total number of pups born. The observed pup mortality rates were 4.0% on St. Paul Island and 2.1% on St. George Island. Pup production was not estimated on Sea Lion Rock, a small island approximately 500 m from St. Paul Island in 2022.