National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
An Arctic ringed seal, which is listed as a “threatened” subspecies of ringed seal under the Endangered Species Act.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration An Arctic ringed seal, which is listed as a “threatened” subspecies of ringed seal under the Endangered Species Act.

Feds reject petition to delist Arctic ringed seals as threatened

Since 2013, three subspecies of ringed seal — the Arctic, Okhotsk and Baltic — have been listed as threatened.

Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game has criticized the federal government’s rejection of its petition to delist Arctic ringed seals as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

“Ongoing research, along with traditional knowledge compiled since the listing shows no evidence of declines in ringed seal populations,” ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said in a Wednesday press release. “The seals are handling current environmental changes well. ESA listings should be reserved for imperiled species. It is difficult to believe that a species with a healthy, robust population that numbers in the millions can be threatened with extinction.”

Since 2013, three subspecies of ringed seal — the Arctic, Okhotsk and Baltic — have been listed as “threatened,” while the Ladoga subspecies is considered endangered.

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision was based on “threats associated with ongoing and projected changes in sea ice and on-ice snow depths stemming from climate change within the foreseeable future,” according to its decision on the petition.

This ruling was contested by ADF&G at the time and has already faced legal challenges in the past. In 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska vacated the listing in a case between the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and the NMFS. That decision was reversed in 2018 by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which reinstated the listing.

The primary basis for the decision to list Arctic ringed seals as threatened in 2012, according to NMFS, was that warming temperatures and diminishing sea ice would reduce the amount of habitat for the seals and have an adverse effect on population and overall health of the species.

The petitioners, which include ADF&G, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope and the North Slope Borough, argued that newly available scientific data suggests that, while the amount of sea ice in the Arctic has steadily decreased since 1979, this has not had an adverse effect on the Arctic seal population.

In its decision, NMFS stated that the petition “does not present new information or analyses that had not been previously considered and therefore does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted.”

Although it has denied the State of Alaska’s petition, NMFS will be “separately” initiating a five-year review of the Arctic ringed seal’s threatened status, which is supposed to be conducted every five years in order to account for newly available scientific data.

In its response to the denial of the petition, ADF&G argued that maintaining this listing “will have significant consequences for the economy of the State and subsistence opportunities for Alaska Natives with little to no conservation benefit to ringed seals.”

For more information on the petition and the decision by NMFS, visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/90-day-finding-petition-delist-arctic-subspecies-ringed-seal-under-esa.

Reach reporter Brian Mazurek at bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man indicted for 3 shootings at Homer family planning clinic, recovery center

The grand jury returned 12 counts total for the three shootings

The entrance to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is barricaded on Overland Avenue in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Citing dangerous drivers, Kenai closes one entrance to visitor’s center

The barricade will be removed temporarily on Friday for Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities

A Kenai Peninsula Food Bank truck in the Food Bank parking lot on Aug. 4, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Food bank seeks turkey donations as Thanksgiving nears

The local food bank is calling for donations of $25 to “Adopt-A-Turkey” for a local family in need

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward budget hearing covers bed tax, wages, emergency medical services

The Seward City Council on Nov. 12 considered a series of legislative items connected to 2025 and 2026 budget

The results of ranked choice tabulation show Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, winning reelection in the race for Senate District D. (Screenshot/Gavel Alaska)
Bjorkman, Vance win reelection after tabulation of ranked choice ballots

An effort to repeal ranked choice voting and the open primary system was very narrowly defeated

Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Aviation, Reeve Air submit proposals to bring air service back to Seward

Scheduled air service has been unavailable in Seward since 2002

Erosion damage to the southbound lane of Homer Spit Road is seen on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, following a storm event on Saturday in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
City, DOT work to repair storm damage to Spit road

A second storm event on Saturday affected nearly a mile of the southbound lane

Kenaitze Indian Tribe Education Director Kyle McFall speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Charter school proposed by Kenaitze Indian Tribe given approval by school board

The application will next be forwarded to the State Department of Education and Early Department

Suzanne Phillips, who formerly was a teacher at Aurora Borealis Charter School, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis charter renewal clears school board

The school is seeking routine renewal of its charter through the 2035-2036 school year

Most Read