Marine Mammal Protection Act Depleted Designation for Northern Fur Seal

NOAA Fisheries is designating the Pribilof Island population of North Pacific fur seals as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This action is required by the MMPA when a species or population stock falls below its optimum sustainable population (OSP). Since the current Pribilof Island population of North Pacific fur seals is below 50  percent of the population levels observed in the 1940s and early 1950s, this population is below the level which can maintain maximum net productivity, the lower bound of the OSP range. Once a population stock is designated as depleted, the MMPA requires the application of certain additional restrictions on taking and importation.