Unalaska, AK – This week, the Alaska Board of Fisheries unanimously voted to open the western Aleutians to cod fishing - a challenge to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which had recommended a closure in an effort to protect the endangered western stock of Steller sea lions. Before the decision took place, Doug DeMaster sat down with KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez to answer questions about the Steller sea lion biological opinion, the new regulations put in place, and why the western stock is having so much trouble compared to the eastern stock. Demaster is the science director at NMFS's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.