Editing Steller sea lion (section)

== Interactions with humans ==
[[File:Amak Island, Steller's Sea Lion haul out.jpg|thumb|Sea lions haul out on [[Amak Island]].]]

Steller sea lion were hunted for meat and other commodities by prehistoric communities everywhere their range intersected with human communities. Aside from food and clothing, their skin was used to cover [[baidarka]]s and [[kayak]]s. A subsistence harvest on the order of 300 animals or less continues to this day in some native communities in Alaska.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

Historically, the sea lion has had only very slight commercial value. For example, in the 19th century their [[whisker]]s sold for a penny apiece for use as tobacco-[[pipe cleaner]]s.<ref>Haynes, Terry L. and Mishler, Craig (1991) [http://www.subsistence.adfg.state.ak.us/TechPap/tp198.pdf The subsistence harvest and use of Steller sea lions in Alaska]. Technical paper no. 198. Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Division of Subsistence. Juneau, Alaska</ref>

Steller sea lions are sometimes killed intentionally by fishermen, as they are seen as competitors and a threat to fish stocks.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Killing sea lions is strictly prohibited in the US and Russia; however, in Japan, a fixed number are still harvested annually, ostensibly to protect their fisheries. In Canada, commercial hunting is prohibited, but limited hunting permits are occasionally granted for [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] communities, or if local culling is deemed necessary, for example, nuisance animals destroying fish farms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Environment and Climate Change |date=2009-11-27 |title=Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 12 |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/steller-sea-lion/chapter-12.html |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref>

In recent years, Steller sea lions have been known to enter the [[Columbia River]] estuary and feed on [[white sturgeon]], several [[Pacific salmon|salmon]] species, and [[rainbow trout]], some of which are also listed under the U.S. [[Endangered Species Act]]. They are found in the Columbia River nearly year round,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331354748|title=Evaluation of Pinniped Predation On Adult Salmonids and Other Fish In The Bonneville Dam Tailrace, 2018|last1=Tidwell|first1=Kyle|last2=Carrothers|first2=Brett|last3=Bayley|first3=Kristen|last4=Magill|first4=Lindsay|last5=van der Leeuw|first5=Bjorn|date=24 January 2019|doi=10.13140/rg.2.2.33686.60482}}</ref> with the exception of early summer, going as far upstream as [[Bonneville Dam]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/marine-mammals/seals-and-sea-lions/upload/cr-pinniped-fs.pdf |date=March 2008 |title=Seal & Sea Lion Facts of the Columbia River & Adjacent Nearshore Marine Areas |publisher=[[NOAA]] |access-date=16 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723020046/http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Marine-Mammals/Seals-and-Sea-Lions/upload/CR-Pinniped-FS.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Though not as abundant as the [[California sea lion]], there is still concern amongst agencies tasked with managing and monitoring the fish populations; as the Steller sea lions are, themselves, protected under the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972|Marine Mammal Protection Act]],<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> managers are implored to use non-harmful, non-lethal deterrence methods (such as rubber bullets, bullhorns and other noisemakers). Interference or deterrence by the general public is unlawful, unregulated, and considered to be stressful (even disruptive) to the animals and their habits. Additionally, the massive size of the Steller sea lion—and potential for aggression—poses a real threat for humans; thus, the interfering with, molestation or frightening of marine mammals is strictly forbidden. Offenders are subject to varying fines, court appearances and even jail time.

=== Recent decline and subsequent recovery ===
[[File:Stellers Sea Lions BC.jpg|thumb|Near [[Vancouver Island]]]]
[[File:RBCM - Diorama Coastal Cliffs 2.jpg|right|thumb|Taxidermied specimens, [[Royal British Columbia Museum]]]]
While the populations of the eastern and Asian stocks appear stable, the population of the western stock, particularly along the [[Aleutian Islands]], was estimated to have fallen by 70–80% since the 1970s. As a consequence, in 1997 the western stock of Steller sea lions was listed as [[endangered]] and the eastern stock was listed as threatened under the United States [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref>[https://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/pinnipeds/stellersealion.htm Steller Sea Lion]. US National Marine Fisheries Service .</ref><ref>[http://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?spcode=A0FS Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus'')]. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.</ref> They have since been the object of intense study and the focus of much political and scientific debate in [[Alaska]].

One suspected cause of their precipitous decline was the overfishing of [[Alaska pollock]], [[herring]], and other fish stocks in the Gulf of Alaska. This stems largely from the "junk-food hypothesis" representing a shift in their diet from fatty herring and capelin to leaner fare such as pollock and flounder, thereby limiting their ability to consume and store fat.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/node/21556804 Biodiversity: Pity the copepod]. The Economist (16 June 2012). Retrieved on 27 October 2012.</ref> Other hypotheses include increased predation by [[orca]]s<ref>{{cite journal|title=Predation on an Upper Trophic Marine Predator, the Steller Sea Lion: Evaluating High Juvenile Mortality in a Density Dependent Conceptual Framework|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0030173|year=2012|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=7|issue=1|pages=e30173 |pmid=22272296|pmc=3260237|last1=Horning|first1=M|last2=Mellish|first2=J. A.|bibcode=2012PLoSO...730173H|doi-access=free}}</ref> and sharks,<ref>{{cite journal|title=In cold blood: evidence of Pacific sleeper shark (''Somniosus pacificus'') predation on Steller sea lions (''Eumetopias jubatus'') in the Gulf of Alaska|doi=10.7755/FB.112.4.6|year=2014|journal=Fishery Bulletin|volume=112|issue=4|pages=297 |last1=Horning|first1=Markus|last2=Mellish|first2=Jo-Ann E.|url=https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/1957/54605/1/HorningMarkusFisheriesWildlifeInColdBlood.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref> indirect effects of prey [[species composition]] shifts due to changes in climate, effects of disease or contaminants, shooting by fishermen, and others. The decline is certainly due to a complex of interrelated factors which have yet to be defined by the research effort.<ref>Clover, Charles. 2004. ''The End of the Line: How overfishing is changing the world and what we eat''. Ebury Press, London. {{ISBN|0-09-189780-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Dalton, Rex|title=Is this any way to save a species?|doi=10.1038/436014a|year=2005|journal=Nature|volume=436|issue=7047|pages=14–6|pmid=16001032|s2cid=30885310|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Another possible reason for decline in this species has been tied to the nutritional stress hypothesis. The lack of prey corresponds to the decrease in population. In females specifically, obtaining an insufficient amount of nutrients has resulted in the failure to complete their pregnancies to full term.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Trites|first=A. W.|date=2003|title=The decline of Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus in Alaska: a review of the nutritional stress hypothesis|journal=Mammal Review|volume=33| issue =  1|pages=3–28|doi=10.1046/j.1365-2907.2003.00009.x|bibcode=2003MamRv..33....3T |s2cid=52221241}}</ref>

In October 2013, the eastern Steller sea lion was taken off the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered mammals and birds|U.S. Endangered Species List]] after a major population comeback over the past several years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sea Lion Species Removed from Endangered Species List|url=https://news.yahoo.com/sea-lion-species-removed-endangered-species-list-131925639.html|work=Yahoo News|access-date=27 October 2013}}</ref>