USFWS Says Delisting Southern Sea Otter May Be Warranted, Initiates Status Review
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 90-day finding on a petition to delist the southern sea otter says it presents substantial information that the petitioned action may be warranted. The species was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977.
The agency will add the southern sea otter to the National Listing Workplan and initiate a status review.
The petition from the California Sea Urchin Commission and Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara “for the removal of the southern sea otter from the list of threatened species” was received by the USFWS in February, 2021.
Earlier this month, the USFWS issued an evaluation of the feasibility of reintroducing sea otters to their historical range along the West Coast of the contiguous United States. The Service focused the assessment on northern California and Oregon, where potential sea otter reintroduction would have the greatest conservation value.
The Service’s assessment indicates reintroduction is feasible, but it does not provide a recommendation as to whether sea otter reintroduction should take place. Additional information and stakeholder input would be needed to help inform any future reintroduction proposal if the initiative moves forward, says the agency.
Sea otters once lived across the north Pacific Rim from the northern islands of Japan to Baja California. By 1911, this heavily hunted species was nearly extinct and survived in only a few small disjunct populations. After slow population recovery and past reintroduction efforts, sea otters now again inhabit portions of their historical range.
However, sea otters remain absent from the contiguous Pacific Coast, with the exception of central California, one island in southern California, and the northern coast of Washington.
As a keystone species, sea otters play a fundamental role in the ecological health of nearshore ecosystems. Sea otters eat sea urchins and other marine grazers, which helps keep kelp forests and seagrass beds in balance. Their presence in the ocean enhances biodiversity, increases carbon sequestration by kelp and seagrass, and makes the ecosystem more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Additionally, said USFWS in the assessment, reintroduction could increase the genetic diversity of recovering sea otter populations and contribute to the conservation of the threatened southern sea otter.
“If sea otters are reintroduced to northern California and Oregon, it would benefit both otters and the nearshore marine ecosystem,” said Craig Rowland, acting state supervisor for the Service’s Oregon office. “Additional work is needed to evaluate the possible impacts of a potential reintroduction as well as measures to offset these impacts. While we anticipate an overall socioeconomic benefit to coastal communities, we also recognize that some local shellfish fisheries could be affected.”
The USFWS says it finds that the delisting petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that delisting the southern sea otter may be warranted. “We will fully evaluate all potential threats during our 12-month status review, pursuant to the act’s requirement to review the best scientific and commercial information available when making that finding,” says the agency.
The petition says the “delisting is warranted because the best available scientific and commercial data show that the southern sea otter is no longer in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
Most significantly, it says, “the threat of a major oil spill within the range of the southern sea otter has reduced considerably, thanks to regulations enacted since the otter’s 1977 listing, new technologies, oil spill preparedness, and evolving market forces. No comparable threat has arisen in the meantime.
“Instead, the otter’s range has steadily grown and its population has steadily increased. According to the most recent of those surveys, the population currently meets the standard for delisting identified in the 2013 Recovery Plan. Considering the population’s rebound and the reduction of threats to the species, no compelling scientific basis exists to justify the southern sea otter’s continued listing.”
If not delisted, say the petitioners, “in the alternative, the Service should adopt a tailored 4(d) rule for the southern sea otter under its recently issued regulations, to reward stakeholders for their role in the species’ recovery to date and encourage continued progress. In particular, the Service should revive the protections Congress afforded fishermen and other oceangoers under Public Law No. 99-625 and commit to extending the same binding protections to others as a condition for any future translocations.”
The petition says “the California Sea Urchin Commission is an entity of the state of California, created to promote sustainable sea urchin harvest, educate consumers and the public about sea urchins, and balance sea urchin harvest with environmental protection.
“Sea otters voraciously consume sea urchins, depleting the stock and frustrating sustainable harvest efforts. Regulations resulting from the sea otter’s listing also interfere with sustainable harvest by exposing urchin divers to the threat of significant criminal and civil penalties should their activities disturb an otter. For this reason, the Commission supports solutions that promote the sea otter’s recovery while protecting the interests of fishermen from unfair regulatory burdens and California’s sea urchin stock from unmanaged predation.”
The Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara is a nonprofit corporation “organized to integrate regional efforts of fishing communities and to improve the economic and biological sustainability of fisheries. The organization seeks to maintain California’s fishing heritage, improve fisheries management, and contribute to the improvement of ocean health. The organization’s members operate in fisheries occupied by the sea otter. Consequently, the continued listing exposes those members to the risk of unjustified civil and criminal penalties for their innocent fishing activities.”
The USFWS also found the petition to list the Pryor Mountain mustang population does not present substantial information that the population is a listable entity under the ESA or that the population may meet criteria in our distinct population segment policy to warrant listing as a DPS.
The Pryor Mountain mustang population is descended from domestic horses that were introduced to the southwestern United States by Spaniards in the 16th century.
“We consider these horses as feral, non-native animals that compete with native wildlife for resources and are potentially detrimental to the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. Service policy supports the management and removal of feral horses to ensure they do not adversely impact native species and their habitats. We received a petition to list the Pryor Mountain Mustang population as a DPS. Based on our review of the petition, however, we found that the population does not meet any DPS considerations regarding significance and is not a listable entity under the act,” said the agency.
The ESA allows citizens to petition the Service to add species to the ESA list, remove species from the list, and to reclassify species already on the list. To the maximum extent possible, the Service issues a finding on a petition within 90 days of the petition’s receipt.
Substantial 90-day findings represent a relatively low bar, requiring only that the petitioner provide information that the petitioned action may be warranted. The next steps involve in-depth status reviews and analyses using the best available science and information to arrive at a 12-month finding.
- Columbia Basin Snowmelt, Runoff In Most Areas Early, Rapid; Water Supply Forecasts May-September Dropping - 05.15.2025
- Spring Runoff Older Than You Think: Hydrologists Show Mountain Streamflow Old Snowmelt On Years-Long Underground Journey - 05.15.2025
- Columbia River Harvest Managers Confirm Spring Chinook Return On Track, Approve 14 More Fishing Days - 05.15.2025
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!