On the path to recovery the California sea otter has had an uphill climb.

In 2010 a record number of sea otters were found dead along the California coastline and the 3-year population average (the measure scientists use to balance out the population’s ups and downs) has been in decline for two consecutive years. And while these playful animals struggle, scientists are racing to find exactly what is keeping this population from recovering and bouncing back.

Five years ago legislation was passed that created a voluntary tax check-off program which Californians could donate to when filing their state tax returns.  Known as the California Sea Otter Fund, this wildly successful donation program has raised over $1 million in its first 4 years.   Now in its final year Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel) has introduced legislation that will renew it through 2016, providing it reaches its minimum contribution goal each year.

But where do the funds from the tax check off go?

The money raised from the California Sea Otter Fund supports a long-term study to determine the impacts of toxic chemicals and disease-carrying pollution on sea otters living along the developed areas of the California coast.  While some of these answers are known, researchers are looking for a deeper understanding of the relationships between sea otters and their habitat.  Already, research supported by the tax fund has enabled scientists to develop a clearer understanding of some of the detrimental effects that sea otters living in heavily polluted coastal areas are experiencing.

Tim Tinker of the U.S. Geological Survey, who helps lead a multinational project the tax check-off money helps fund, had this to say about the project, “Comparing the health, behavior and survival of sea otters in polluted vs. pristine habitats provides us with a much better understanding of the ways in which people can impact the coastal environment. We expect that this will result in answers to some of the questions about why sea otter numbers are not increasing — answers that will be extremely valuable for managers in deciding how best to protect both sea otters and the coastal ocean habitats that both sea otters and humans rely on.”

And biologists suspect there may be more threats facing sea otters that have yet to be identified, the main reason the funding is so critical: not only to find solutions to the problems we know about, to discover the threats we don’t know about as well.  It is the only way we will learn what ails these playful animals and how to ensure that recovery efforts succeed.

They have already determined that sea otters in more polluted areas are more susceptible to land-based diseases and pollutants. At the same time, they are finding some natural causes are responsible for a high proportion of sea otter deaths at both sites, polluted and pristine.  An increase in fatal attacks from great white sharks and the loss of reproductive-aged female sea otters due to the high energy demands of pup care are taking a toll on sea otters and unfortunately these factors appear to be on the rise.

As researchers wrap up the field component of the study over the next year, they will be putting together all the various pieces of the puzzle, including radio-tracking data from wild sea otters and detailed information on mortality that they glean from dead animals that strand on the beach.  They expect this will result in answers to some of the pressing questions regarding declining sea otter populations.  Answers that will be extremely valuable in deciding how best to protect both sea otters and the coastal ocean habitats that they rely on.

Visit www.saveseaotters.org to find out more.

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