South American sea lions have been greatly impacted by human exploitation. During the late Holocene period to the middle of the twentieth century, hunter-gatherers along the Beagle Channel and northern Patagonia had greatly reduced the number of sea lions due to their hunting of the species and exploitation of the species’ environment. Although sealing has been put to a halt in many countries, such as Uruguay, the sea lion population continues to decline because of the drastic effects humans have on their ecosystems. As a result, South American sea lions have been foraging at higher tropical latitudes than they did prior to human exploitation.