177 



Mr. Potter. There is an additional problem now and that is the 

 question of environmental contamination which has a particular effect 

 on sea otters because it tends to clog their fur and make the fur, in 

 effect, permeable to water so that they die from chillmg. 



Is this not a possibility that the environmental deterioration, not the 

 absence of adequate forage, is proving the limiting factor on the sea 

 otters ? 



Dr. LixDUSKA. That could well be. The result is the same. 



Mr. Potter. They are dead — sure. The question we are asking now is 

 would a moratorium for a year. 2 or 3, be appropriate, and it seems to 

 me that if they are not dying out because of limitations on their habi- 

 tat, that it is not appropriate to say that a moratorium might not be an 

 appropriate management tool. 



Dr. LixDusKA. The point I am making is that irrespective of the 

 environment with which they were originally provided, if, in fact, 

 there is deterioration and we are losing more animals than normal, you 

 would still gain nothing from a moratorium. You would merely save 

 more animals to die within the same limited environment. 



Mr. DixGELL. Doctor, on the species like the sea otter which are rela- 

 tively stable insofar as their geographic area is concerned, it seems to 

 me that they ought to be moved around and transplanted to the limit 

 of our ability and that we ought to use that form of harvest to restock 

 other areas as opposed to trying to commercially harvest these species. 



Am I correct in that. Doctor? 



Dr. LixDUSKA. Both programs are going forth. There has been an 

 ambitious program of restocking and there undoubtedly still may be 

 habitats remaining which would be suitable for their occupancy. 



Mr. DixGELL. There are habitats up and down the California coast. 

 There has only been modest restocking in Washington and Oregon. 



Dr. LixDrsK-\. Enough to establish the animals. 



I would not be prepared to say if the California coast would be 

 a suitable environment for them. 



Mr. DixGELL. There is a native population there and Mr. Potter 

 tells me it is rather broadly placed, the ancestral population that 

 exists there. 



Whether or not the Alaskan species can thrive in California waters 

 is another question, but that is a matter that should be explored and 

 tried before we begin commercial harvestmg. 



Dr. LixDUSKA. Well, if the native population within that range 

 is not prospering and is at a standstill level I do not know that put- 

 ting new animals in the environment would avail us much good. 



Mr. DixGELL. We have the fundamental problem that we do not 

 know the answer to that particular question. 



Dr. LixDFSKA. That is so, but I am not sure it would be desirable 

 to introduce additional animals. 



There is a great reluctance on the part of professional people to 

 introduce into the range of a native species or population one that 

 may be foreigii to that range. You could very well wind up losing 

 the native sjDecies or population. 



Tliat is one of the objections to introducing exotic creatures. 



Mr. DixGELL. Now, I would like to ask you a question. 



Is not one of the major predators of the sea otter in California, the 

 illegal shooting that goes on from power boats because of their poach- 

 ing on abalone and so forth ? 



