Wynne's dietary study is one of dozens of projects probing the mystery of the sea lion's decline. Over the last three decades, the Steller population in the Bering Sea and western Gulf of Alaska has declined by about 80 percent. The animals now number about 33,600. That's 10 times the amount allocated the year before. I wish I had it 10 years ago.
Environmental groups say the answer is clear.
They blame the pollock fishery. The pollock harvest is the nation's largest fishery. The white fish is turned into fillets for fast-food restaurants, imitation crab and fish sticks. Greenpeace and other environmental groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service seeking limits on fishing to protect the sea lions. Under orders from a federal judge to provide a biological explanation for the sea lions' decline, the NMFS concluded that many factors, including environmental changes, contribute to the problem.