ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Not listed; candidate only

PETITIONED: 2008

RANGE: Arctic waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas between Alaska and Siberia, as well as the eastern Siberian Sea and western Beaufort Sea

THREATS: Global warming and the recession of arctic sea ice, oil and gas exploration and drilling, habitat disturbances, ocean acidification, and toxic pollution

POPULATION TREND: Current trends indicate that numbers may be declining but exact population figures are unknown.