THE SEA OTTEE IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN 173 



surface investigations in these waters with C. H. Fiscus and his 

 crew of biologists from 7 to 10 July 1960 while on board the 

 M/V Windward. Otters were found over waters as deep as 23 

 fathoms. An investigation of about 2 miles of beach on Amak 

 Island in 1960 revealed no remains of sea otters or droppings. 

 While walking the same beach in 1963, Fiscus found the remains 

 of two adult sea otters but saw no living animals on shore. It 

 appears that this population leads a predominantly offshore exist- 

 ence. Some observers (Lensink, 1958) speculate that this group 

 of otters migrate seasonally. No evidence to support this supposi- 

 tion is available. 



During aerial surveys of walruses on 27 March 1961, the Amak 

 Island area was visited. Fog, however, prevented a satisfactory 

 survey. A few otters were seen through gaps in the fog northeast 

 of Amak Island, north of Izembek Bay, indicating that a number 

 were present. It seems reasonable to conclude that, as in other 

 areas, otters are resident there throughout the year. Where they 

 bear their pups is unknown. 



In 1963, R. D. Jones and C. P. McRoy (Jones, letters Dec. 1963 

 and March 1964) found five dead sea otters in April, June, August, 

 and November on the Kudiakof Islands which separate Izembek 

 Bay (55°20' N. lat., 162°30' W. long.) from the Bering Sea. They 

 also saw several living otters in Izembek Bay, 17-19 December 

 1963. These observations and the lack of similar ones in past years 

 indicated a population increase in the southwestern Bristol Bay 

 area which was confirmed during the 1965 aerial survey. 



One of the significant observations we obtained during the 1965 

 aerial survey was of the very large number of otters occupying 

 shallow water north of the Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island 

 (table 30). Many of these animals were gathered into large rafts 

 well outside the surf line, apparently sleeping on their backs at 

 midday when we made our survey (fig. 81). Scattered individuals 

 were feeding. Although the 1965 survey showed that the majority 

 of the otters in this area were within the 3-mile limit, the 1962 

 survey demonstrated that numbers of them may feed in waters 

 near the 20-fathom curve, which in this area is from 5 to 8 miles 

 from shore. A possible reason that more otters were near shore 

 during the 1965 survey was that a north wind of approximately 

 30 knots had blown steadily for several days before our survey. 

 At the time of the survey, the wind had dropped to 10-15 knots but 

 was still from the north. 



The indicated great increase in the otter population from Fox 

 Islands to Port Moller may probably be attributed primarily to 



