The Alaska Example

The Danish explorer, Vitus Bering, began exploration of the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska on behalf of Russia in 1741. At the Aleutian Islands, he met Aleut people who wore long cloaks made of sea otter pelts. During the years of Russian control of Alaska (1741-1867), it is estimated that more than 800,000 sea otters were taken from the area. Following protection in 1911, the remnant sea otter populations (well under 2000 animals total) slowly began to increase again. By the 1980's an estimated 150,000 sea otters occupied the range from the Kuril Islands to Prince William Sound. Since then, however, the sea otter population in the Aleutian Islands has declined by over 70%. Scientists think that shifting ocean temperatures in the Northern Pacific have caused a change in the composition of fish species. Sea lion and seal populations have declined, and killer whales, which had fed on seals and sea lions, have switched to eating other foods including sea otters. In areas such as Amchitka Island, where populations of sea otters had reached their maximum density, the most probable cause of sea otter decline was starvation. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound in 1989 killed nearly half the sea otters in the oiled area of the Sound. In the nine years following the spill, sea otters had decreased survival rates in all age-classes. The population has not yet recovered to pre-spill levels. In Alaska, sea otter populations are not considered at risk. Under the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act, Aboriginal people in Alaska may harvest sea otters for subsistence purposes and for use in crafts and clothing for sale or trade.