Precipitous declines in sea otter populations in southwest Alaska constitute the most significant conservation issue for the northern sea otter since commercial fur trades. These figures show results from recent population surveys.

For more information:

• Conserving Sea Otters in Alaska

When recent surveys demonstrated the decline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded by:

• continuing to monitor southwest Alaska sea otters;
• designating the southwest Alaska population as threatened under the Endangered Species Act;
• planning the future direction for research and monitioring by hosting a workshop for sea otter experts to share information and ideas about causes for the decline;
• working cooperatively with the Alaska SeaLife Center (grant agreement ) to conduct research on sea otters in southwest Alaska and the adjacent Russian Commander Islands, where sea otters apparently have not declined.