Steller Sea Lions: The Movie

 The Steller sea lion encounter in the Inian Islands left an indelible impression on my diving psyche.  I really did not relish another encounter in the wild.  But, you can’t really dive the border of the Gulf of Alaska without running into the critters.

Specifically, the area of the Gulf of Alaska where I do my open water diving, Resurrection Bay and Prince William Sound, is populated by the Steller sea lion Western Distinct Population Segment (DPS).  This DPS is listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act,   (The Steller sea lions in the Inian Islands are part of the Eastern DPS, which was listed as “threatened” until 2013.  Their removal from the list is a conservation success story.)  As far as my encounters go, east versus west, are pretty much the same.

I was diving in the area of Mary’s Rock at the entrance to Resurrection Bay in May 2015 from the M/V BottomTime when I had my second memorable encounter with a large group of Steller sea lions.  At first, they were quite curious and playful, as shown in the accompanying video taken with a GoPro Hero 3+.  What the video does not show is how quickly their behavior became more aggressive as they started tugging on my gear and mouthing my hooded cranium.  They may have been bored because this encounter was much shorter than the one in the Inian Islands. 

In October 2014, I started as a volunteer exhibits diver helping to maintain the Steller sea lion, seal, and bird habitats at the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward, Alaska.  As my participation in the science diving program at ASLC increased, my open water dives in Alaska dwindled to zero.  Nowadays, my 15 to 20+ a year dives in Alaska are working dives in the confined waters of the three habitats. 

The Steller sea lions are removed from the habitat for the duration of our maintenance dives, usually an hour or so.  My encounters with Steller sea lions today occur with them on the wet side of the habitat’s glass and me on the dry side.  They are magnificent creatures no matter how you encounter them.  I will note that ASLC divers will wear helmets when doing open water dives near Steller sea lion habitats.  I think if I ever again dive with the critters in the wild, I will do the same.  It seems like the prudent thing to do.