Chiswell Streaming Video

Chiswell Island Streaming Video
Chiswell Island, Gulf of Alaska

Alaska SeaLife Center Opens Virtual Eye on the Lives of Pinnipeds:
Steller Sea Lion Rookery Video Now Streaming Live via the Internet

To view the stream with a Mac, please Click Here! and select the appropriate OS version.

Camera Operating Hours: 9am - 5pm Alaska Standard Time

Because these cameras are wind and solar powered, weather conditions will sometime affect the availability of this link. Please check back periodically, the video will be available as soon as the cameras receive sufficient power. Thank you for your patience.

Due to an overwhelming demand to view the Steller Sea Lions on Chiswell Island, we have upgraded the amount of people that can connect at a time to 100. Thank you to all our viewers who have made this project a complete success.

The population of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in south-central and western Alaska has declined by more than 80 percent since the mid-1970s, and this “western stock” has been listed as an endangered species.

Chiswell Island, approximately 35 miles south of Seward, Alaska, is home to a small rookery of these endangered sea lions. Steller sea lions often return to the same rookery—a place where they give birth and mate annually—making long-term studies feasible with remote video observation. The Alaska SeaLife Center has monitored Steller sea lions on the island since October 1998 using remote video cameras. Researchers are particularly interested in Steller sea lion distribution and movement patterns, reproductive success, and mortality at Chiswell Island and other locations. Live video feeds have been an essential tool in finding clues that could aid in Steller sea lion recovery.

Now live video feed of the Steller sea lions will also be available on computers around the world.

Whether sun, snow or horizontal rain, the web stream will be available here for a limited time until Steller sea lions gradually move on to more protected haulouts to avoid winter’s rough seas. This is the only live feed of Steller sea lions in their natural habitat currently running in the world.Hypotheses for Steller sea lion declines include fishing pressure on food sources, reduced juvenile survivability, disease, persistent organic pollutants, prey changes–either in distribution or abundance, and killer whale predation

Chiswell Island is part of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The placement of equipment and research conducted on refuge land is done under Special Use Permit No. 74500 - 03-045 issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The remote video cameras are owned and serviced by SeeMore Wildlife Systems, Homer, Alaska

CLICK HERE for more information!