Haliaeetus pelagicus is vulnerable to coastal development in its restricted breeding and wintering ranges. Developments such as the hydrological scheme at Lake Utonai on Hokkaido, Japan, is threatening the wintering population there.
The breeding population of Haliaeetus pelagicus was estimated in 1986 to be 2,200 pairs and a survey in winter 1985/1986 indicated 4000 birds on the Kamchatka peninsula (the main and almost only Russian wintering area) and just over 2,000 in Japan (mainly concentrated on the Shiretoko peninsula, 1987), giving a total population estimate of 6,000--7,000.
Haliaeetus pelagicus is considered as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List. CITES lists the species as "Appendix 2".