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Between 2013 and 2015, the species underwent a rapid population decline due to sea star wasting disease and abnormally high water temperatures caused by global climate change. The species disappeared from its habitats in the waters off the coast of California and Oregon, and saw its population reduced by 99.2% in the waters near the state of Washington. A team of ecologists using shallow water observations and deep offshore trawl surveys found declines of 80 to 100% from 2013 population levels across a 3,000 kilometer range. '''As of 2020, the species has been declared critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. '''

1 m in diameter. They are the second-biggest sea star in the world, only second to the poorly known deepwater Midgardia xandaros, whose arm span is 134 cm and its body is 2.6 cm (roughly 1 inch) wide, although P. helianthoides is the largest known echinoderm by mass. Growth of the Sea Star begins rapidly, but slows as the animal ages. Researchers estimate a growth rate of 8cm/year in the first several years of life, and a rate of 2.5cm/year later.