Containment 



Between 1 September and 18 December 1987, there were 16 

 reports of sea otters in the designated Management Zone. 

 Half of the reports provided sufficient information to conclude 

 that sea otters, not harbor seals or objects mistaken for sea 

 otters, had actually been sighted. Three of the reported 

 sightings subsequently were verified. In the first case, a 

 single otter was seen off Port Hueneme on 9 October 1987. 

 From the color of its tag, it seems likely that the otter was 

 from the mainland population, not San Nicolas Island. The 

 animal could not be found after the initial observation and 

 there have been no further reports of otters in this area. 



A second verified report was by California Department of 

 Fish and Game biologists who sighted two sea otters on 18 

 November 1987, just south of the northern limit of the Manage- 

 ment Zone at Point Concepcion. Subsequently, one otter was seen 

 north of Point Concepcion. Plans to capture the otter south 

 of Point Concepcion were postponed due to bad weather, and 

 subsequent searches failed to locate an otter in that part of 

 the Management Zone. 



The third verification occurred on 9 December 1987, 

 following up on a report by a local fisherman of two otters 

 in a kelp bed near the Los Angeles/Ventura County line. 

 Responding to the report, Fish and Wildlife Service biologists 

 found three adult sea otters with tags confirming that they 

 were from San Nicolas Island, and one recently born pup. The 

 female and pup were captured by Department of Fish and Game 

 and Fish and Wildlife Service researchers and returned to the 

 mainland location where the female had originally been captured. 

 A winter storm precluded further capture efforts in 1987 and, 

 at the end of the year, the remaining two animals had not 

 been caught and removed from the Management Zone. 



The containment program is operational and is expected 

 to be successful in preventing the establishment of resident 

 groups of sea otters in the Management Zone. There may be a 

 need, however, to develop more efficient means for reporting 

 and verifying sightings and to develop criteria to help deter- 

 mine when efforts should be initiated to capture and remove 

 otters found in the Management Zone. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service is evaluating the results 

 of the 1987 translocation and containment program and, by 

 mid-1988, should modify the approved translocation plan as 

 necessary to facilitate establishment and containment of sea 

 otters in the San Nicolas Island translocation zone. The 

 Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, will review any proposed modifications and provide 

 comments and recommendations to the Service as appropriate. 



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