Ocean Sentry
(From sanluisobispo.com)- Sea otters in California, slowly recovering from their brush with extinction a century ago, still face threats from disease and oil spills. That’s the conclusion of a final stock assessment of the animals by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released to the public just after Christmas. The final document mirrors the draft version released in June and other assessments done of sea otters.
Southern sea otters are an icon of California’s marine ecosystem. Because they are a top near-shore predator, they are considered an important indicator of the health of the state’s oceans.
They range from San Mateo to Santa Barbara counties with San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties at the heart of their range. They are listed as threatened on the federal endangered species list.
One-third of the 11-page report is devoted to analyzing the number of otters killed by entanglement in fishing gear. However, results are inconclusive because observer programs do not exists for most of the fisheries that may interact with otters, such as live-fish fishing using traps and hook and line.
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