2022 Northern Fur Seal Pup Production Estimate and Adult Male Counts on the Pribilof Islands, Alaska
February 02, 2023
Northern fur seal pup estimates 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.