May 8, 2023 · Based on sea otter diving behavior, a study by the USGS suggested that sea otters in the most heavily impacted areas were still being exposed to oil on a regular basis, resulting in delayed recovery and continued early mortality through 2009. This population of otters was finally determined to be recovered to pre-spill abundance in 2013 (24 ...

sea otter presence exceeded losses to shellfish fisheries many times over. A 2006 study of California sea otter ecotourism in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties estimated a tourism-related income range of $1.5 to $8.2 million from sea otter expansion along a portion of the southern California coastline. Early modeling for Oregon contracted by

Southern Sea Otter Population Trends (3-yr Avg Index) Total CA wide index Delisting Threshold Mainland Total Mainland Independents San Nicolas Total San Nicolas Independents California Summary Tinker, M.T., and Hatfield, B.B., 2017, California sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, spring 2017:

Aug 28, 2017 · Sea otters live in shallow coastal waters in the northern Pacific Ocean. Two sea otter subspecies occur in the United States, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) and the northern sea otter (E.l. kenyoni). Southern sea otters, also known as California sea otters, live in the waters along the central California coastline.

Southern sea otter counts 1983–2019. Bars show raw counts for each year for the central California mainland and San Nicolas Island (SNI), whereas lines represent 3-year running averages. The annual census was not completed in 2011 (due to weather) or after 2019 (due to COVID-19 restrictions and plane availability). Southern Sea Otter Recovery

Conclusions: Sea otter ecosystem effects vary between coastal habitats Kelp forests • primary productivity, species diversity, enhanced nursery habitat for fish, shoreline stability, carbon fixation, etc. Seagrass: • Sea otters reduce crab populations, facilitating grazers in seagrass beds • Positive effects for eelgrass resilience.

and 2002, the southwest Alaska sea otter population has declined by at least 56–68 percent overall and currently numbers about 41,000 animals. Survey data show that sea otter abundance has declined throughout the region from the western Aleutian Islands to Castle Cape and that the declines in some areas far exceed the average decline.

Given the rapid increase in the Washington sea otter population (9 percent annually on average since 1989, Jeffries et al. 2016) to a level now approaching one unpublished estimate of carrying capacity (1,854 sea otters (95 percent CI 1,499-2,208), Laidre et al. 2011), and the availability

• Indications that sea otter populations were historically managed for sustainability. • Sea otter bone presence in middens along outside waters as well as inside waters. • Likely hunted just for fur, but potentially for food as well. • Behavioral change as a result of intensive hunting 4 Sea Otter Impacts to SEAK Fisheries

Southern sea otter resting in a small patch of kelp. (Lilian Carswell, FWS) Coastal Zone Management Act. The Coastal Zone Management Act was passed in 1972 to encourage coastal states to develop and implement coastal zone management plans.