Sea Otter Populations Growing in California

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Sea Otter
Sea otters control populations of kelp-grazing sea urchins, so dramatic changes in these ecosystems have followed the collapse and recovery of sea otter populations. (Image credit: Dreamstime)

The California sea otter population, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, has grown since last year, according to a recent population census published by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The otter population is reported annually as a three-year-running average, and rose to 2,941 this year, up from last year's average of 2,792. The animal still retains its threatened species status, and will continue to do so until it reaches an average of 3,090 individuals for three consecutive years, according to a USGS statement.

This year's growth is attributed, in part, to the expansion of the survey area to include San Nicolas Island, a region of Southern California that had been excluded from the survey in the past. An increase in pup numbers also accounts for some of the growth, the USGS reports.

Those involved in the survey remain cautiously optimistic about what this year's count means for future population trends.

"A high pup count is always encouraging, although the number of adult otters counted along the mainland was almost identical to last year's count, so we'll have to wait and see if the positive trend continues," Brian Hatfield, USGS biologist and coordinator of the survey, said in the statement.

Sea otters play an important ecological role in the kelp forests of California's near-shore coastal ecosystems by eating sea urchins and other kelp grazers that, if left unchecked, would decimate kelp beds.

The thick-furred animals were nearly hunted to extinction along the California coast by the fur trade that operated in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were thought to have been completely wiped out until several dozen were spotted off the coast of Big Sur in the 1930s. Since then, the population has steadily grown, though numbers fluctuate annually and from region to region.

"Certainly, sea otters have made an impressive recovery in California since their rediscovery here in the 1930s," Tim Tinker, a biologist with the USGS who supervises the survey, said in a statement.  "But as their numbers expand along California's coast, they are facing different 'growing pains' in different locales. Our research partnership is investigating the factors responsible for these local trends."

In addition to their annual census, the USGS maintains an annual database of sea otters found dead or stranded on shore to help track potential causes for changes in population trends.

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Laura Poppick
Laura Poppick
Live Science Contributor
Laura Poppick is a contributing writer for Live Science, with a focus on earth and environmental news. Laura has a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Laura has a good eye for finding fossils in unlikely places, will pull over to examine sedimentary layers in highway roadcuts, and has gone swimming in the Arctic Ocean.