1.37 Fur seals on St. Paul Island. Every year, hundreds of thou- sands of northern fur seals return to their haul-outs in the Pribilof Islands in Alaska to breed, give birth, and teach their pups to swim, hunt, and survive in the Bering Sea. U.S. commercial fur sealing operations continued on St. Paul until 1984, but despite a reduction in harvest, the population of fur seals has continued to decline. Possible reasons include climate shifts in the North Pacific, chang- es in the availability of prey, and new or increased interac- tion with commercial fisheries that increase mortality. Here are data on the estimated number of fur seal pups born on St. Paul Island (in thousands) from 1979 to 2014, where a dash indicates a year in which no data were collected:28 FURSEALS Pups Born (thousands) Year Pups Born (thousands) Year Pups Born (thousands) Year Pups B (thousa 245.93 1988 202.23 1997 2006 109. 203.82 1989 171.53 1998 179.15 2007 179.44 1990 201.30 1999 2008 102. 203.58 1991 2000 158.74 2009 165.94 1992 182.44 2001 2010 94 173.27 1993 2002 145.72 2011 182.26 1994 192.10 2003 2012 96 167.66 1995 2004 122.82 2013 171.61 1996 170.12 2005 2014 91