Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



pathologists with the National Biological Service's 

 National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wiscon- 

 sin, have been conducting necropsies on all fresh 

 beach-cast sea otter carcasses collected along the 

 California coast to determine if there are unusual 

 causes or rates of mortality. 



National Wildlife Health Center pathologists have 

 determined that 42 percent of southern sea otter deaths 

 can be attributed to infectious diseases. These include 

 acanthocephalan peritonitis (15.9 percent), protozoal 

 encephalitis (11.4 percent), coccidioidomycosis (6.8 

 percent) and other diseases (7.9 percent). Other 

 sources of mortality have included trauma, such as 

 shark bite, lacerations, etc. (18.2 percent), emaciation 

 (11.4 percent), tumors (3.4 percent), and various 

 conditions of mechanical or functional impairment 

 (9.1 percent). The cause of death of 15.9 percent of 

 animals is undetermined at this time. 



Between 16 and 25 July 1995, 11 southern sea 

 otters were found dead or dying along the beach in 

 Monterey County, California. This was substantially 

 more than normal and the event prompted a multi- 

 agency investigation involving, among others, the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, the National Biological Service, 

 the California Department of Fish and Game, and the 

 Monterey Bay Aquarium. Necropsies and diagnostic 

 tests on 10 of the 1 1 carcasses were carried out by the 

 National Wildlife Health Center, and additional tests 

 were performed through the Department of Fish and 

 Game and the Aquarium. Samples were also collected 

 from apparently healthy animals captured in the 

 Monterey Bay area. Despite the thorough investiga- 

 tion, no cause of the mortality has been identified. A 

 number of tissue samples from the dead animals have 

 been frozen and saved for possible future investiga- 

 tion. As of the end of 1995 no further unusual 

 mortalities had been observed in the area. 



Update of the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan 



— In 1989 the Fish and Wildlife Service reconstituted 

 the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Team to review and 

 recommend changes necessary to update the Southern 

 Sea Otter Recovery Plan. This action was precipitat- 

 ed, in part, by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and the 

 subsequent realization that the entire California sea 

 otter population could be jeopardized by a similar oil 

 spill. 



Based on the recovery team's recommendations, the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service drafted a plan update and in 

 August 1991 provided it to the Commission and 

 others for review and comment. The Commission, in 

 consultation with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, 

 reviewed the draft and provided comments to the 

 Service on 8 November 1991. As discussed in 

 previous annual reports, the Commission recommend- 

 ed that a second draft be done and be provided to the 

 Commission and others for review and comment. 



On 8 July 1992 the Service advised the Commission 

 that it had decided not to prepare a second draft for 

 further agency and public review. The Service 

 indicated that the recovery team had reviewed the 

 comments on the draft recovery plan update and had 

 proposed to redirect the focus of the update specifi- 

 cally to actions needed to remove the population from 

 the List of Endangered and Threatened Species. 



Subsequently a number of industry and conservation 

 groups expressed concern to the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service that revision of the recovery plan was being 

 done without public input and consideration of socio- 

 economic factors. In response to these concerns, 

 early in 1993 the Fish and Wildlife Service formed a 

 public interest group to identify and suggest ways for 

 resolving conflicting views regarding needed conser- 

 vation actions. 



Members of the recovery team finalized a revision 

 of the update for review at the end of 1994. Early in 

 1995 the revision was submitted to the Service's 

 Regional Director. At the end of 1995 it was the 

 Commission's understanding that the proposed update 

 of the recovery plan was still under review in the 

 regional office. 



Pup Survival Study — The California sea otter 

 population has experienced a relatively slow rate of 

 increase compared to sea otter populations in Wash- 

 ington and Alaska. This could be due to low pup 

 survival. As discussed in Chapter X, in 1995 the 

 Commission provided funds to support analysis of 

 data on patterns of sea otter pup survival and develop- 

 ment in different geographic areas. A draft report 

 was completed and circulated for review in December 

 1995. It is anticipated that the final report will be 

 available early in 1996. 



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