Haliaeetus sanfordi is under threat as coastal forests are rapidly disappearing, being degraded and becoming increasingly fragmented. Hunting is also a threat and could increase as the pressure of human populations on the islands that it inhabits grow.
Haliaeetus sanfordi is endemic to Bougainville and Buka islands, Papua New Guinea, and to the Solomon Islands, where it frequents forest and coastal areas from sea-level to 1,500 m. It requires a large territory and appears to have become uncommon, for example on Santa Isabel, although it remains fairly common on Kolombangara, Choiseul and Malaita.
The species is considered as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List. CITES lists the species as "Appendix 2".