THE SEA OTTER IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN 3 



1967, and at Adak in 1967. One thousand pelts were available for 

 the first public auction (since 1911) on 30 January 1968, at 

 Seattle, Wash. 



The harvesting of otters served the dual purpose of furnishing 

 a financial return to the public and making specimens available 

 for biological research. Many of the facts thus obtained are pre- 

 sented in this report. 



Biologists of the State of Alaska, particularly K. Schneider, 

 under the direction of J. Vania are progressing in management 

 studies, especially in transplanting otters from areas of abundance 

 to vacant parts of their former range. Concurrently, biologists 

 of the State of California are studying the population there. In 

 the Soviet Union, long continued sea otter studies, principally in 

 the Commander and Kuril Islands, have added much to our knowl- 

 edge. A comprehensive review of published information on the 

 sea otter is given by Harris (1968). 



Wise conservation practices based on biological knowledge will 

 assure not only that the sea otter will once again be an article of 

 commerce, but also that this interesting member of our wildlife 

 community will flourish as an esthetically and scientifically valu- 

 able part of our environmental heritage. 



