St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs, Alaska is better known as Seal Island to wildlife lovers, locals and tourists. Having evolved from a volcanic past of the bygone era, the island today is home to the largest population of Northern fur seals. But this largest population is rapidly shrinking in size and facing extinction owning to human activities like seal-hunting and dumping wastes and other debris on the island. Northern fur seals and other marine mammals like sea lions, walruses, elephant seals etc. comprise the fauna of Alaska. As per the 2000 IUCN Red Data List, Northern fur seals are declared as ‘Vulnerable’ species. During the months of May and June, these animals gather on the shores of the Pribilof Islands, which are the rookeries (breeding sites) of these creatures. The sight of large male calling out for females to mate and join its harem is usually an idyllic one. But an increase in unchecked human activities have made these rookeries into dumping grounds for masses of debris , plastic bottles , tires , fishing nets and ropes.

Reports of deaths of these animals, caused by their painful entanglement in huge fishing nets are increasing every year. While, the domestic fishing liners of Alaska contribute some of this junk, a major chunk of it gets carried to the island from distant locations via ocean currents. The debris specially, the plastic bottles bear identification symbols in Russian, Korean and Japanese languages.

The islands of Pribilof (St. Paul, St. George and others) have declared seal hunting an illegal offense. Conservation projects have been spruced up (under the Marine Mammal Protection Act) since the time the numbers of these seals, hit an all time low in 1988. But this act alone cannot contribute towards the well being of these animals, as the growing amounts of marine debris on their breeding grounds have severely affected the birth and survival rate of their pups. According to as estimate, the Pribilofs now have, only half of the seal population of what was being found during 40’s and 50’s. There is a 6% annual decline in the pup production, as calculated by marine wildlife scientists. This decline can be linked to the growing insecurity on the rookeries where, hundred’s of poor animals get stuck in the debris and are unable to free themselves. Active efforts are being made by the local islanders and conservation officials to help and release such animals but the whole procedure is so cumbersome that many animals die by the time they are rescued from the clutches of these vicious fishing nets.

However, there is an increasing awareness among the locals towards this issue now. Volunteers and officials every year engage in cleaning up the island’s shoreline. Bob King, the debris coordinator of the Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation says, “There is a culture that has abused the oceans for decades and decades and that has got to stop”. Unfortunately, these clean up efforts are a tedious and costly affair. But then, it is just one of the ways to combat this problem. The amount of debris removed last year from a small stretch of the vast shoreline was large enough to fill two 20-foot truck trailers!!! So, no matter how much the cleaning effort restores in an year’s worker, the situation gets worse by the next year, because the accumulation of waste on these shores never stops! Unless and until, people and travelers don’t realize their responsibility towards nature and stop dumping wastes, the future of these Northern fur seals remains in shade.

Via FoxNews