Agency denies endangered species listing for spotted seals off Alaska

US spotted seals denied ESA protection

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal agency says it will not list two populations of spotted seals off Alaska’s coast as threatened or endangered.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday it will, however, list a population of spotted seals that live off the coasts of Russia and China as threatened.

The agency says the 200,000 spotted seals in and near Alaska are not in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

The Center for Biological Diversity is seeking a listing for spotted seals and other northern seals because of losses in sea ice due to global warming.

Spotted seals use the edge of sea ice far from predators to give birth and nurse pups.