Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) Sighting in Utqiaġvik

Observation by Jonas M. Ahsoak Sr. by Jimmy Evak:

I did not sight this but I saw a Facebook post with photographs of a sea lion near Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska sighted by Jonas M. Ahsoak Sr., of Utqiaġvik (Barrow) August 19, 2018 by Wiley Post/Will Rodgers Memorial site. This is unusual because sea lion sightings so far north are rare, much less seeing one on the beach. With permission from Jonas M. Ahsoak

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been forwarded to the North Slope Borough Wildlife Department

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game documents the southern Chukchi Sea/Northern Bering Sea as the northernmost part of the Stellar Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) species range. However, as conditions in the Arctic continue to change, normal species distributions may also change. A recent article published in the Nome Nugget describes changes in water temperatures that is affecting some species distributions. In a recent trawl survey conducted by NOAA Fisheries, scientists found that the thermal barrier separating northern and southern Bering Sea marine ecosystems was gone. The trawl catch revealed that warm water species were now able to move in to northern waters that were previously inaccessible due to the presence of colder ocean waters. Species found out of range included cod and pollock. Erica Lujan