Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 
otters, the Commission in December 1980 recom- 
mended that the Fish and Wildlife Service adopt and 
implement a management strategy recognizing the 
ultimate need for “zonal” management of sea otters 
and the need to establish one or more sea otter colo- 
nies at a site or sites not likely to be affected by an oil 
spill in or near the population’s present range. The 
Fish and Wildlife Service concurred with the Commis- 
sion’s recommendation and incorporated the zonal 
management concept into the Southern Sea Otter 
Recovery Plan adopted in February 1982. 
The Fish and Wildlife Service initiated efforts in 
1981 to identify possible sites for establishing one or 
more “reserve” sea otter colonies off California, 
Oregon, and Washington, develop a translocation 
plan, and assess the possible environmental and 
economic consequences of re-establishing sea otters in 
additional parts of their historic West Coast range. In 
the fall of 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-625, 
which included provisions authorizing and encourag- 
ing the development and implementation of a plan to 
establish at least one sea otter colony outside the then 
existing sea otter range in California. The law 
required that the plan specify a translocation zone that 
would meet the habitat needs of the translocated 
animals and provide a buffer against possible adverse 
activities that may occur outside the zone. It also 
required that the area surrounding the translocation 
zone be designated a “management zone” from which 
sea otters are to be excluded by non-lethal means, to 
prohibit range expansion and protect fishery resources 
south of Point Conception. The law further specified 
that the management zone not infringe on the popula- 
tion’s existing range or on adjacent range where 
expansion is necessary for recovery of the species. 
The Fish and Wildlife Service subsequently devel- 
oped and adopted a plan to establish a reserve sea 
otter colony at San Nicolas Island. This island is one 
of the California Channel Islands, and activities there 
are managed by the Navy. Implementation of the 
plan required cooperative efforts by the Navy as well 
as by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the California 
Department of Fish and Game. To clarify their 
respective roles, the two agencies concluded a Memo- 
randum of Understanding on 18 August 1987. 
Among other things, the Memorandum specified that: 
19 
e the Fish and Wildlife Service will be responsible 
for providing funds and personnel necessary to 
implement, enforce, and carry out the translocation 
program; 
e if verified sightings of sea otters are made at any 
location within the designated management zone 
(“no-otter zone”), the Fish and Wildlife Service 
will undertake recapture efforts in cooperation with 
the California Department of Fish and Game, as 
soon as weather and sea conditions permit, and 
return the captured otters either to the mainland sea 
otter range or to the translocation zone; 
e the Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with 
the California Department of Fish and Game, will 
(a) evaluate the safety, effectiveness, and cost of 
possible alternative techniques for limiting popula- 
tion growth, including but not limited to reduction 
of fecundity, and (b) assess as part of a long-term 
management plan, the appropriateness of selective 
culling, recognizing that evaluations involving the 
lethal take of California sea otters could not be 
permitted; 
¢ the California Department of Fish and Game will 
be responsible for designing and carrying out a 
research program, using funds provided by the 
Fish and Wildlife Service, to evaluate the feasibili- 
ty of humane, non-lethal methods to experimentally 
maintain the southern boundary of the mainland sea 
otter range in an area between Point Arguello and 
Point Conception; and 
e the California Department of Fish and Game will 
initiate and/or support State legislation to imple- 
ment appropriate restrictions on the use of gill and 
trammel nets in the translocation zone. 
Translocation Efforts — Capture of sea otters for 
translocation to San Nicolas Island began on 24 
August 1987. As of June 1990, 252 sea otters had 
been caught along the central California coast for 
possible translocation to San Nicolas Island. Of these, 
105 were released at the capture site, 8 died during 
the translocation process, and 139 were transported to 
and released at San Nicolas Island. No animals have 
been captured for translocation since mid-1990. 
