The southern sea otter, Enhydra lutris nereis, once inhabited the western shores of North America from Morro Hermosa Point, in central Baja California, north to the vicinity of Grays Harbor, Washington. Over-exploitation by fur hunters in the 1700's and 1800's brought the species to near extinction in the early 1900's. Fortunately a remnant population persisted along the remote central California coast near Point Sur. The sea otter in California has exhibited a slow population increase since receiving full protection by Federal and State law enactments. They were reported as rare in 1906; estimated at 300 individuals in 1938; and the first aerial census in 1957 reported 638 animals inhabiting the coastline between Carmel Bay and Point Conception. Subsequent to the sea otter decline an abalone, Haliotis spp., fishery developed in those areas formerly occupied by the sea otter. Because sea otters forage upon abalones a resource conflict has developed between abalone fishermen and the sea otter. This conflict has continued to expand relevant to the sea otter population and distributional expansion. The objective of the California Department of Fish and Game is to maintain both the sea otter and abalone resources and to this end a management program was prepared and submitted to the Legislature for review in January 1968.
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