variety of fish including herring, arctic cod, pollock, and capelin. They do not seem to vocalize a lot, although not much is known about their vocalizations. They appear to vocalize more while in molting groups. When approached in these groups, they make various sounds such as growls, barks, moans, and roars. Based on satellite tracking conducted on Yellow Sea population, it was revealed that seals migrate more than 3,300 km. Conservation status On March 28, 2008, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated a status review under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to determine if listing this ice seal species under the ESA was warranted. After an 18-month review of the status of the spotted seal, NOAA announced on October 15, 2009 that two of the three spotted seal populations, together numbering 200,000 seals in or adjacent to Alaska, are not in danger of becoming extinct, nor are they likely to become so in the "foreseeable future", even though global warming has caused a loss in arctic ice mass. The announcement stated: "We do not predict the expected fluctuations in sea ice will affect them enough to warrant listing at this time." In China, the spotted seal was under class-II national protection in the past, but the protection level was raised to class-I in 2021. The main threats to the species in China are global warming, marine traffic, industry noise, ocean pollution, and poaching for aquarium exhibition.In South Korea, spotted seals have been designated Natural Monument No. 331 and second-class endangered species. An environmental activist group Green Korea United is currently working closely with local Chinese government to stop the seals from being poached by Chinese fishermen. See also References External links Alaska Department of Fish & Game SCS – The Seal Conservation Society Phocins Pinnipeds of the Arctic Ocean Pinnipeds of North America Pinnipeds of Asia Mammals of Korea Mammals of Japan Mammals of China Mammals of Russia Mammals of the United States Holarctic fauna Mammals described in 1811 ESA threatened species