YT

• Central coast of California

  • One of the most plentiful marine ecosystems on our planet
  • Living tapestry of biological diversity
  • Home to the adorable Southern Sea Otter
• Tourists from around the world flock to see the Southern Sea Otter and marvel at its unique behaviors
• In the last three years, an unprecedented number of sea otter mortalities have occurred along the California coast
• California sea otters were already on the endangered species list and now they're dying off in growing numbers
• Scientists are searching for the causes of the mysterious sea otter deaths


  1. Like crime scene detectives

  2. Anxiously searching
• One of the lessons to be learned from sea otters is that they're getting hit by a whole bunch of different things and a lot of that has to do with their unique biology and how they differ from other marine mammals that live along the coast
• Not everyone wants to support a thriving sea otter population

  Otters are at the center of a bitter controversy regarding the Fish and Wildlife Service's recent decision to eliminate their No Otter Zone from Southern California waters
• Reasons for opposition to sea otters expanding into Southern California

  • Protect the interests of the commercial shellfish industry
  • Put fishermen out of business
  • Environmental groups have too much money and political clout
• If otters were to disappear from the California coast, it could be catastrophic to the kelp forest ecosystem and all the nearshore ecosystems up and down California
• Southern Sea Otter

  Threatened by pollution, infectious diseases, starvation, and competition with fishermen
• Russian explorers first arrived in Alaska and started harvesting sea otters for their thick, luxurious pelts

  1700s
• British and Americans joined in the profitable otter hunt

  Late 1700s
• During the maritime fur trade, 200,000 sea otters were killed
• Sea otter population was on the brink of extinction

  1867
• International Fur Treaty signed, protecting all remaining sea otters from hunting

  1911
• No known otters remaining in California waters

  1920
• A small raft of 50 otters were spotted at Bixby Bridge along the rugged Big Sur coast

  1938
• Since the fortuitous discovery of this surviving group, scientists have closely monitored the sea otter population in hopes of ensuring its recovery
• During the late 1960s, increased media exposure brought the plight of the sea otters to a national audience
• California sea otter population supported an estimated 1600 animals across the central California coast


  1975
• Southern Sea Otters were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act

  1977
• Sea otters are particularly troubled by oil spills


  Oil accumulates on the surface where otters like to rest as they groom, causing them to lose their insulating fur and freeze to death
• Experimental translocation program by the Fish and Wildlife Service

  1. Took some otters from the central coast and moved them to San Nicolas Island

  2. Intended to establish a remnant colony that could survive an oil spill
• The translocation program required special legislation from Congress, which included the creation of a No Otter Zone in Southern California to protect the commercial shellfish industry
• From 1987 to 1990, 140 sea otters were captured and relocated to San Nicolas Island, but by 1991 only 13 remained
• Many of the relocated otters swam back to their original habitat north of Point Conception, and an astounding 50% were never accounted for and presumed dead
• The relocation of otters that moved into the No Otter Zone proved deadly
• In 1993, the Fish and Wildlife Service stopped removing sea otters from the No Otter Zone, and no otters really entered the zone until 1999
• In 1999, large numbers of sea otters started moving, seasonally, into the No Otter Zone, and fishermen called upon the Fish and Wildlife Service to move the otters
• Shellfisheries and sea otters cannot coexist in the same place, as sea otters deplete the resource until it's gone
• In 2009, two environmental groups filed a lawsuit forcing the Fish and Wildlife Service to make a formal decision about the translocation program and the No Otter Zone
• The Fish and Wildlife Service finally declared the translocation program a failure and officially removed the No Otter Zone

  December 2012
• Many fishermen are angered by the decision and feel the emphasis should instead focus on improving the otters' habitat along the central coast
• Most scientists and fishermen agree that allowing sea otters to expand into Southern California waters will have negative effects on the commercial sea urchin industry
• The economic impact may be lessened by an increase in tourism in the region
• Get on with the problem. Stop talking about this zone and that zone and this translocation. Get to the crux of the problem. Buy in the people who are involved in it and solve the damn problem.
• If we get otters in San Diego, it's gonna put me out of business because there won't be any sea urchins for the divers to harvest because the otters will take everything. All these workers here won't have jobs.
• Most scientists and fishermen agree that allowing sea otters to expand into Southern California waters will have negative effects on the commercial sea urchin industry.
• The economic impact of this, however, may be lessened by an increase in tourism in the region.
• Dr. John Loomis did a study, through Defenders of Wildlife, to look at the economic benefits. And what the study found were significant benefits of having sea otters return to the area that would greatly benefit the communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, which would clearly outweigh the benefits brought from a small segment of the fishing industry.