Dear MARMAM-- On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce that NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has reassessed the status of Guadalupe fur seals after 30+ years. We are so grateful for all of the research conducted by our U.S. and Mexican counterparts over many years and for contributing to this report.
You can find the report at: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2021-07/guadalupe-fur-seal-status-review-2021.pdf?null McCue, L.M., Fahy, C.C., Greenman, J., and K. Wilkinson. 2021. Status Review of the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi). 95 pp. National Marine Fisheries Service, Protected Resources Division, West Coast Region, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, California, 90802. Thank you- Christina Fahy Fishery Biologist National Marine Fisheries Service Long Beach, CA Guadalupe fur seals (*Arctocephalus philippii townsendi*) once had a population size of as many as 200,000 animals before they were hunted to near extinction for their fur in the 19th century, although pre-exploitation population estimates vary greatly. This species was thought to be extinct until a Guadalupe fur seal was sighted on San Nicolas Island, California in 1949, and an expedition to Guadalupe Island, Mexico (their primary rookery) in 1954 confirmed the survival of the species. Since the 1950s, the species has recovered from an estimated population of 200-500 animals to a minimum estimate of 31,019 animals in 2013, with an estimated annual population growth rate of 5.9% from 1984-2013. The Guadalupe fur seal was listed as threatened in 1985 under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The status of this species was reviewed more than 30 years later, with NOAA Fisheries publishing their report in 2021. After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information and an assessment of threats to the species, NOAA Fisheries determined whether the identified threats were likely to cause Guadalupe fur seals to become or remain in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Guadalupe fur seals have only one main rookery (Guadalupe Island, Mexico), and major threats that impact these seals directly and/or indirectly through their primary prey (squid) include warm water events, storms/hurricanes, sea level rise, ocean acidification, disease, and oil spills. Here, we provide an update on the status of the Guadalupe fur seal under the ESA and NOAA Fisheries’ next steps, including conservation and management recommendations for recovery of this protected species.
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