Ugamak Island is approximately 5.2 miles (8.4 km) long and located in the Krenitzen Islands group, about 75 miles (121 km) northeast of Unalaska and 36 miles (58 km) east of Akutan, Alaska. It is the easternmost island in the Krenitzin Islands, part of the Fox Islands in the Eastern Aleutians. The Aleut Unangan name for the island was transcribed by Father Veniaminov in 1840 as “Ostrov Ugamak.” According to R.H. Geoghegan, this name may mean “ceremony island.”

The rocky reefs surrounding Ugamak Island serve as haulouts and rookeries for Steller sea lions. The National Marine Fisheries Service has established a summer field camp here to monitor sea lion population trends. Studies conducted at this site and others have revealed a 75% decline in the Steller sea lion population in the western Gulf of Alaska between 1976 and 1990.

Several factors may have contributed to the population decline, including incidental mortality in fisheries, illegal and legal shooting, predation, and diseases. Indirect effects, such as climate change, may also have played a role by altering food abundance and distribution or changing prey species composition, leading to nutritional stress. Read more here and here. Explore more of Ugamak Island and the Krenitzen Islands here: