 Cooperative Institute For Arctic Research |
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In fiscal year 2001, NOAA received supplemental funding to provide scientific support for management decisions
regarding fisheries and marine mammal interactions in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. The western population of
Steller's Sea Lion (SSL) has been in decline for several decades and is now considered endangered. There are several
possible factors causing this decline. One of these factors is commercial fishing in habitat critical to the SSL,
thought to cause a harmful reduction in SSL prey availability. To determine if other factors might be important in
the decline of the western SSL population, NOAA was directed to conduct research focused on two of the other
hypothesized factors, namely impacts of ocean climate regime shifts, and changes in predator/prey relationships.
The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the NOAA National Ocean Service (Coastal Ocean Program)
asked CIFAR to help organize the scientific community to respond to these needs, and in February 2001 CIFAR released
an Announcement of Opportunity addressing research in the two areas of interest. Twelve projects were awarded
under this competition.
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