KODIAK ISLAND, Alaska — A dozen endangered sea lions gather around two divers waving strange contraptions far below the ocean surface off the coast of Kodiak Island.
Brian Fadely, a federal wildlife biologist, grips a noose attached to a 50-foot line, while his colleague Kate Call wiggles a herring at the end of a short pole to coax one of the hefty pups through the hoop.
Another curious Steller sea lion is caught for science.
Five researchers in a skiff are ready to crate the startled 200-pound animal for the short ride to the research vessel Tiglax, the only ship of its kind among the 540 national wildlife refuges in the country.
Once it's aboard the ship, scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service anesthetize the 5-month-old pup, glue a satellite transmitter to its back, then release it back into the frigid sea to be tracked over the next several months.
By the end of the 17-day excursion from Kodiak to the eastern Aleutian Islands in November, researchers had tagged 13 young sea lions, believed to be the most vulnerable age group of an endangered species off Alaska's coast. The ongoing juvenile tracking effort has intensified over the last few years, but there's always one constant -- the Tiglax.
"It's a very comfortable ship to be on," said Fadely, a repeat passenger on various fisheries service projects. "It's set up for research, it's got good food and an outstanding crew."
In service for 16 years, the Tiglax has emerged as a major player in managing the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, which extends from the state's southeastern arm to the Aleutian Islands to the Arctic Slope. It's a floating science center with access to many of the 2,500 islands, islets and headlands that make up the 3.5-million-acre refuge.
Researchers from federal agencies, universities and other institutions use the 120-foot vessel for hundreds of projects, keeping track of the health and welfare of the Far North's abundant marine life. Most of the research is done along the Aleutians and Gulf of Alaska during the warmer months, when lush grasses sprout waist-high and the region comes alive with millions of returning seabirds, whales, otters and sea lions.
"If we didn't have this vessel, we wouldn't have a biological research program anywhere near the depth we presently have," said refuge manager Greg Siekaniec.
