Sea Otters Head to Court: An update of efforts to end the No-Otter Zone

Steve Shimek, of Monterey Coastkeeper (www.montereycoastkeeper.org) was the most recent presenter at the monthly Center for Ocean Solutions (Twitter: @ocean solutions) Policy Seminar in Monterey. Shimek is the founder of the Otter Project (Twitter: TheOtterProject). It was a gorgeous day in Monterey,and the sea lions just outside the door provided appropriate ambience.

Shimek referred to the otter as “the Panda of the coast,” since they are perhaps the cutest non-human residents, making it relatively easy to raise money for their protection. According to Shimek (and others), The Southern Sea Otter population is in a “precipitous” decline. The focus of Shimek’s talk Thursday was the legal battle to protect the sea otters from the No Otter Zone. He says the Otter Project swore they would never do litigation, but it has lately become necessary. In twelve years, The Otter Project has had only six lawyers, and gone to court twice. They don’t want to be “painted as litiginous.” The goal of the Otter Project is to promote the rapid recovery of the otter population of the California coast.

The otters’ range extends from Alaska to the middle of the Baja California peninsula. In the “pre-exploitation” (c. 1740) era, otters were abundant along the coast. As a humorous aside, Shimek reported that one theory as to why the otters don’t populate areas further south is speculation that in warm water they would “sink.”

In the late 17th Century, otters along the coast were hunted nearly to extinction. Otter pelts were highly valued for use as winter clothing. Compared to the human head, which contains between 100-200,000 hairs per square inch (for some of us), otters have some one million hairs per square inch, making their fur perhaps the most beautiful and lush of any animal. This furry coat protects the otters from the cold waters of the California coast.

In the 19th Century, there were remnant populations at various places along the coast. Otters were thought by many to be extinct, until the construction of coastal Route 1 commenced after 1919. “People had pretty much forgotten about the otters.” Fifty otters were discovered at Bixby Creek (under the now-famous Bixby Bridge, Route 1). There are now some 2700-2800 along the coast, something, Shimek says, is “something to be proud of.”

Today, otters can be seen as far south as Orange County, and as far north as Point Reyes, California, famous as a hauling out point for the massive Elephant Seals. Shimek reports that many otters in the spring count this year have been found dead on the beach.

Why are the otters dying? Shimek showed an image of a kid’s drawing of otters, and said that kids believe it is because of garbage and pollution. No doubt, the kids are right, but that is not the whole story. Some of the many reasons otters are dying are shark bites, emaciation, lack of parental care, neonatal mortality, infectious disease (38.5%), protozoal encephalitis, bacterial infections and old age. Pollutants, including PCBs, PBDE (compounds used as flame retardants), PFOS (a key ingredient in 3M’s Scotchgard and fire-fighting foams), manganese (a naturally occurring element, also found in batteries), cobalt (a highly toxic metal found in tiny amounts in vitamin B12) and butylin, also affect the health of the otter populations. The loading of contaminants, which collect in the animals’ livers, is much higher in California than in Washington, Alaska and other areas where the otters are found.

Essentially, otters are swimming in a “sea of diseases.” All sea animals are threatened by plastics in the Ocean, as well as a myriad of pollutants. Other threats to the otters are oil and gas exploration, bycatch (caught in fishing nets) and the diminution of their natural habitats because of development.

The global system of Marine Protected Areas, some 5,000, comprise 8% of the ocean’s surface, and are part of a grand vision of marine reserves. In 1977, the Ecological Society of America (Twitter: @ESA_org) listed the Southern Sea Otter as “threatened.” In 1980, The Marine Mammal Commission concluded that transplanting sea otters from their current range would reduce the threat of extirpation (being completely destroyed) in the event of an oil spill. In 1982, the USFWS put in place a “recovery plan,” calling for the relocation of otter populations.

In 1982, The USFWS decided to create a new population at San Nicolas Island, the most remote of California’s beautiful Channel Islands, off the coast of Ventura and Santa Barbara. The shellfish fishing industry opposed the move, fearing that the otters, who feast on sea urchins, would deplete urchin populations, cutting into their profits. This is not a problem for small fishing operations, but rather for fleets of twelve to fifteen boats. Also opposed to the relocation was Big Oil (Western States Petroleum), who did not want cute, “fuzzy” critters in their waters.

In November of 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-625, authorizing the transplantation of otters to special zones. The ostensible goal was to create a viable population around San Nicolas Island within a year. After three years, if the population moved away, or there was a significant decrease in population, or the otters all died, the program would be deemed a failure. Of the 140 otters relocated, 74 “disappeared off the face of the earth [no carcasses found],” according to Shimek. Twenty-eight were found in the management zone. He says that “as of yesterday,” there were about forty otters out there, not the 150 expected.

In 1986-87, a “No Otter Zone” was created, from Point Conception to the Mexican border. (The ancient Chumash people of the region may have seen Point Conception as the “Western Gate,” through which the souls of the dead could pass between the mortal world and the heavenly paradise of Similaqsa.)

In the winter of 1997, 100 otters migrated, en masse, into the No Otter Zone. In 2000, pups were born in the Zone. Fishing groups filed a lawsuit to have the otters removed, claiming that the otters would deplete stocks of abalone, lobster, etc. Fish & Wildlife refused.

Various special interests have found ways of skirting the protections the law afford the otters, and so, Shimek says, legal action is necessary for their protection.

Fishermen don’t want the otters competing for stocks, and the Navy, who operate “big maneuvers” in the Channel Islands, don’t want “charismatic, endangered species swimming around down there.” There have been reports of strafing of rafts of otters, and also intentional shooting of otters in the area.

So, the fate of Southern Sea Otter populations remains uncertain. Otters face a huge variety of threats. Fortunately, they have Steve Shimek on their side.

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