The number of Steller sea lions counted this summer at key beaches and rocks from the Gulf of Alaska out the Aleutian chain increased for the first time in decades, according to preliminary results published by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

"This is the first good news we've had in 20-plus years," said biologist John Sease, who oversees the counts for the National Marine Mammal Lab in Seattle. "It's such a delightful change. ... And as important, they did it over a pretty wide area, from Prince William Sound to the central Aleutians."

Steller sea lion numbers have crashed more than 80 percent in the past 25 years. This has confounded scientists for nearly two decades and led to commercial fishing restrictions and environmental lawsuits. The animals were listed as endangered in 1997.

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