A programme to save Steller sea lions has been criticized for using hot brands on pups. Credit: L. FRITZ/NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE/PERMITS: 782-1532-00; 782-1532-01; 782-1532-02

Fresh allegations have surfaced about an extensive US research programme designed to save endangered sea lions. The charges say it may actually be harming the species.

On 12 July the Humane Society of the United States sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), saying that it failed to properly conduct and monitor studies on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska.

The lawsuit alleges that the NMFS violated animal-protection laws “by issuing multiple research permits to a wide variety of entities that allow intrusive, duplicative, uncoordinated and unnecessary research on Steller sea lions”.

The records of the US Marine Mammal Commission, an independent panel that oversees research, partly support the society's allegations. William Hogarth, a top official at the NMFS, wrote in a letter to the society on 22 June that he also has concerns.

Hogarth has ordered an extensive environmental study on the Steller research programme, which is expected to take two years and may cost up to $500,000. The NMFS has pumped more than $120 million over the past four years into research on why Steller populations have plunged in the past quarter-century (see Nature 436, 14–16; 2005).

Administrators of the Steller research programme say the studies are conducted appropriately, with only one or two animal deaths annually. “No one is doing anything that is not important for research,” says Douglas DeMaster, an NMFS biologist and director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.

In May and June the NMFS issued research permits before a review period required by the Marine Mammal Commission was complete. “This is particularly disturbing in light of the scope of the proposed research and potential for adverse effects,” wrote David Cottingham, the commission's executive director, in a letter to the NMFS on 10 June.

The commission has regularly questioned aspects of Steller research, citing the ‘hot branding’ of hundreds of pups, the sedation of animals, and the lack of follow-up reports on previous studies, among other factors.

One researcher seeking a permit this year was Randall Davis, a physiologist at Texas A&M University, Galveston. On 31 May, Davis was cited for alleged research violations in 2003 and 2004. He faces a $10,000 fine and research restrictions after his team reportedly used an unapproved sedation drug and captured Stellers in violation of his research permit.

Davis is contesting the charges, and an administrative hearing is planned. He told Nature that some NMFS officials were “completely out of control”, adding that they were “hostile to researchers”.

NMFS officials say they are discussing the concerns with the Humane Society. A society attorney says that if no remedy turns up, he will seek a court order to suspend some projects.