MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
During the five years since the translocation was 
initiated in August 1987, 21 pups are known to have 
been born at the San Nicolas Island and 7 of these are 
believed to have survived to weaning. As of Decem- 
ber 1992 an estimated 10-13 of the 139 otters trans- 
located to San Nicolas Island remained at the island; 
11 were known to have died; 10 had been recaptured 
in the Management Zone; and 32 had been resighted 
back in the mainland range. The fate of the remain- 
ing animals is unknown. 
Containment — From September 1987 through 
December 1992 there were more than 100 reports of 
sea Otters within the designated Management Zone. 
Some reports were of seals and sea lions, rather than 
sea otters, while others were repeated sightings of the 
same animals. During the period, a total of 16 adult 
sea Otters and 3 pups were captured in and removed 
from the Management Zone. 
In previous years, sea otters sighted in the Manage- 
ment Zone appeared to be transient, moving from 
place to place. Beginning in 1991, however, there 
were indications that animals were taking up residence 
in the nearshore waters of San Miguel Island. During 
an aerial survey in May 1991, nine adults and one pup 
were sighted around San Miguel Island. Since then, 
the Fish and Wildlife Service has captured and re- 
moved seven adult sea otters and two pups from 
waters around that island. An additional otter was 
captured and removed off Cojo Anchorage on the 
mainland in Santa Barbara County, also in the Man- 
agement Zone. As of the end of 1992, a small group 
of otters remained in the San Miguel area, and at least 
one animal was consistently seen in the Cojo Anchor- 
age area. The Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting 
to capture and remove additional animals that are 
regularly sighted in the Management Zone. 
There also are indications that the range of sea 
otters along the mainland California coast is extending 
southward toward Point Conception. On 2 January 
1991 three independent sea otters and a dependent pup 
were sighted near Purisima Point, about 12 miles 
north of Point Conception. During a shore-based 
count on 4 June 1991, eight independent sea otters 
and two pups were seen in this area. As of the end of 
1992, this small colony appeared stable at 10-11 
20 
animals. Although none of the animals had a com- 
plete set of flipper tags, the tags present suggested that 
at least three of the animals likely were animals that 
had been translocated to San Nicolas Island. 
Incidental Take in Fisheries — When the Califor- 
nia sea otter population was listed as threatened in 
January 1977, it was assumed that its population size 
and range were increasing and would continue to 
increase at about five percent per year until all of the 
available habitat was reoccupied. As noted in previ- 
ous annual reports, however, subsequent studies 
indicated that substantial numbers of sea otters were 
being caught and killed in coastal gillnet fisheries and 
that the incidental take had stopped, and possibly 
reversed, the population increase. In addition to sea 
otters and other marine mammals, thousands of 
seabirds and non-target fish species also were being 
caught and killed in these fisheries. 
The State of California, recognizing the problems 
being caused by these non-selective fishing practices, 
enacted a series of regulations starting in 1982 to 
prohibit the use of gill and trammel nets in areas 
where seabirds, sea otters, and other marine mammals 
were likely to become entangled. The prohibitions 
have reduced the incidental take of sea otters and, as 
shown in Table 3, subsequent counts suggest that the 
population increase and range expansion have re- 
sumed. The restrictions did not, however, eliminate 
the incidental entanglement of sea otters. Therefore, 
in 1990, the State of California enacted legislation 
prohibiting use of gill and trammel nets in waters 
shallower than 30 fathoms throughout most of the sea 
otter range in the State. 
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 Exxon Valdez oil spill that occurred 
in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in March 1989. 
The Recovery Team reviewed and subsequently 
recommended revision of the Recovery Plan. In 
response to the team’s recommendations, the Fish and 
Wildlife Service developed a draft revised recovery 
