California Sea Otter Background and Recovery

The southern, or California, sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) is listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and is also protected under California state law as a “fully protected mammal” and by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The fur trade of the 18th and 19th centuries caused sea otter populations to collapse, and by the early 1900s, the southern sea otter was believed to be extinct. In 1938, the public learned that a small remnant population of otters had been discovered living off the Big Sur coast. The population has slowly expanded, from 1995 -2007, has fluctuated between 2,000 and 2,800 animals.

The California sea otter was listed as "threatened" under the ESA in 1977, and in 1982, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service prepared a recovery plan (Plan) for this species. At that time, the range of the California sea otter was from Pismo Beach in the south up to just below Año Nuevo in the north. This area, referred to as the "parent range", in 2007, occurs from Half Moon Bay in the north to Point Conception (near Santa Barbara) in the south. Because sea otters live so close to oil tanker traffic, a major goal of the Plan was to minimize risk from any potential oil spills. This Plan has since been revised and was re-released in 2003.

Defenders of Wildlife is very involved in efforts to help this imperiled population. We provide comments, testify at hearings, and work on legislation on the draft recovery plan and other critical policies on sea otter recovery.