Editing Fur seal (section)

==Population and survival==
[[File:Fur Seal, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.jpg|thumb|right|[[Northern fur seal]] at the [[Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge]]]]
[[File:Seal fur braclet.jpg|thumb|[[Bracelet]] made from silver and seal fur]]
The average lifespan of fur seals varies with different species from 13 to 25 years, with females typically living longer.  Most populations continue to expand as they recover from previous commercial hunting and environmental threats.   
Many species were heavily exploited by commercial [[seal hunting|sealer]]s, especially during the 19th century, when their fur was highly valued. Beginning in the 1790s, the ports of [[Stonington, Connecticut|Stonington]] and [[New Haven]], Connecticut, were leaders of the American fur seal trade, which primarily entailed clubbing fur seals to death on uninhabited South Pacific islands, skinning them, and selling the hides in [[China]].<ref name=muir>Muir, Diana, "[[Reflections in Bullough's Pond]]", University Press of New England, 2000, pp. 80ff {{ISBN|0-87451-909-8}}.</ref> Many populations, notably the Guadalupe fur seal, northern fur seal, and Cape fur seal, suffered dramatic declines and are still recovering.  Currently, most species are protected, and hunting is mostly limited to subsistence harvest.  Globally, most populations can be considered healthy, mostly because they often prefer remote habitats that are relatively inaccessible to humans.  Nonetheless, [[environmental degradation]], competition with [[fisheries]], and [[climate change]] potentially pose threats to some populations.