Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



As indicated in Table 8, surveys conducted by the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service have indicated a recent 

 decline in the California sea otter population. The 

 number of adult animals has decreased about 11 

 percent in the past three years. In spring 1998 the 

 number of sea otters counted was down 5.2 percent 

 from 1998 to the lowest level observed since 1992. 



This recent decline appears to coincide with the 

 development of a fmfish trap fishery in nearshore 

 California waters, suggesting that the decline may be 

 due to an incidental take in this fishery. Because of 

 this possibility, the Commission wrote to the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service on 6 January 1998 recommending 

 that the Service undertake or contract for an observer 

 program to determine whether, and to what extent, 

 California sea otters are being taken incidentally in the 

 developing trap fishery. Subsequently, the Commis- 

 sion learned that fishery observations conducted by 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service indicated that 

 there also has been an increase in gillnet fisheries in 

 Monterey Bay since 1995, and that there may be a 

 corresponding increase in the number of sea otters 

 taken incidentally in this fishery. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service did not provide a 

 written response to the Commission's 6 January letter. 

 However, at the Commission's annual meeting held 

 on 10-12 November 1998 in Portland, Maine, Service 

 representatives advised the Commission that it was 

 considering several factors that may be contributing to 

 the apparent increase in sea otter mortality, including 

 an increase in the rate of infectious disease and an 

 increase in the incidental take in fisheries. 



With regard to incidental take, the Commission 

 was advised that two efforts had been initiated in 1998 

 to investigate possible sea otter entrapment in the 

 expanding finfish trap fishery. One was a study to 

 observe sea otters in a controlled environment to see 

 if they will enter lobster, crab, or finfish traps that 

 contain known sea otter food items. The second 

 study, supported in part by funding from The Otter 

 Project, Inc., a non-profit research organization, is an 

 at-sea observer program to monitor hauls of finfish 

 traps along the coast to determine if sea otter are 

 getting caught. The first phase of the study will be an 

 analysis to determine the level of sampling that will be 

 required to detect such mortality if it exists. 



Table 8. California sea otter population 



counts by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and the California Depart- 

 ment of Fish and Game, 1984-1998 



In light of the recent growth of the halibut gillnet 

 fishery in Monterey Bay, the Service advised the 

 Commission that it would be consulting with represen- 

 tatives of the California Department of Fish and Game 

 to determine whether existing regulations to reduce 

 sea otter mortalities in this fishery are adequate and. 



87 



