Friends of the Sea Otter: Alaskan Sea Otters

Alaskan Sea Otters - Threats H.R. 2714

The Threat

On July 30th, 2011 Representative Don Young (R. – Alaska) introduced H.R. 2714. The bill threatens to reauthorize the sea otter fur trade for segments of the Alaskan sea otter range. Though cleverly authored as if the bill were aimed to enhance the local native people’s ability to practice their cultural traditions, in public comments and actions Rep. Young revealed the real purpose of the bill is to institute a management plan for Alaskan sea otters on behalf of fishing groups.

Rep. Young’s bill threatens to increase the harvest levels and therefore increase pressure on northern sea otter recovery. The bill would remove the requirement under the Marine Mammal Protection Act that harvested sea otter parts be fashioned into a traditional craft by native peoples. This would open the market for the trade of unmodified sea otter pelts. Nothing in the bill would restrict pelts from being sold to businesses and then be fashioned into coats or other commercial items. As current harvest rates may already be affecting the growth of the southeast otters’ range, any further increase of this rate due to the commercialization of sea otter fur could be disastrous for sea otters.

The bill also fails to create an enforcement mechanism by which the origin of harvested sea otters can be verified. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act every sea otter harvested must be “tagged” and recorded by a Fish and Wildlife agent at stations located throughout Alaska. Though it is common to tag harvested sea otters within the DPS in which the sea otter lived, it is still lawful to tag otters outside their range leaving it so that there is no way an FWS agent can verify whether a harvested sea otter originates from the threatened southwest population or not. Therefore, even though the southwest population is excluded, this bill may still result in more harvests from the threatened population.

What the bill does accomplish is a de facto management plan for northern sea otters in the interest of Alaskan fisheries. Because fishing groups must compete with sea otters for certain species, an indirect management plan to stabilize growth or reduce the number of sea otters in the region would benefit fishermen greatly.

The bill is disastrous for sea otters, the environment, and the people of Alaska. The sea otters maintain kelp ecosystems, as previously mentioned in the No-Otter Zone article, and provide numerous ecological and economic benefits to the nearshore environment. The sea otter is also a well-known tourist attraction in Alaska.

If harvest rates continue to increase, all the progress that has resulted because of the reintroduction programs of the 1960s will be lost.

Congressman Don Young Speaking During a House Resources Hearing on his Sea Otter Bill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTctmmTXKuo