Scientific research on marine mammals at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward will continue through early 2027, following a newly approved extension by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In a notice published this week, NOAA announced that Dr. Colleen Reichmuth of the University of California at Santa Cruz has been issued a minor amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 23554. That amendment “extends the duration of the permit through January 31, 2027,” allowing ongoing research at both the Long Marine Laboratory in Santa Cruz and the Alaska SeaLife Center.
The permit authorizes Reichmuth and her team to conduct “comparative psychological and physiological studies” involving six species of captive marine mammals: California sea lions, harbor seals, spotted seals, ringed seals, bearded seals, and Hawaiian monk seals. The work is conducted under the authority of both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
According to NOAA, the original permit, issued in 2021, allows researchers to work with “up to four individuals per species… at both facilities at any given time over the duration of the permit,” with the exception of Hawaiian monk seals, for which “a maximum of one seal will be studied at a time.”
The minor amendment does not alter the scope or conditions of the existing permit, NOAA clarified. It simply extends the timeline for the authorized research. All other terms remain unchanged.
NOAA officials say the ongoing work provides valuable data to support the conservation and understanding of marine mammals—many of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.