![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To Delist the Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: February 6, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 25)]
[Notices]
[Page 5861-5863]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06fe04-91]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on
a Petition To Delist the Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis)
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of 90-day petition finding.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce a
90-day finding for a petition to remove the southern sea otter (Enhydra
lutris nereis), throughout its range, from the Federal List of
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, pursuant to the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (ESA) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). We reviewed the
petition and supporting documentation, information in our files, and
other available information, and find that there is not substantial
information indicating that delisting of the southern sea otter may be
warranted. We will not be initiating a further status review in
response to the petition to delist. We ask the public to submit to us
any new information that becomes available concerning the status of
this species. This information will help us monitor and promote the
conservation of this species.
DATES: The finding announced in this document was made on November 14,
2003. You may submit new information concerning this species for our
consideration at anytime.
ADDRESSES: Data, information, written comments and materials, or
questions concerning this petition and finding should be submitted to
the Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish and
Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003.
The petition finding and supporting data are available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
Ventura address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lilian Carswell, Biologist, Southern
Sea Otter Recovery Program, at the above Ventura address, or telephone
805-644-1766.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 5862]]
Background
We listed the southern sea otter as a threatened species in 1977
(42 FR 2968; January 14, 1977) because of its small population size,
its limited distribution, and potential risk to its habitat and
population from oil spills. Critical habitat was not proposed. We
approved the first recovery plan for the southern sea otter in 1982,
and we published a final revised recovery plan in 2003 (Service 2003).
Because the southern sea otter is listed as a threatened species,
it is also recognized as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection
Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407). Under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act, Federal agencies are charged with managing marine
mammals to their optimum sustainable population level. The estimated
optimum sustainable population level for southern sea otters is greater
than that required for delisting consideration under the ESA. We
estimate that the lower limit of the optimum sustainable population
level for the southern sea otter is approximately 8,400 animals
(Service 2003).
The petition to delist the southern sea otter under the ESA, dated
July 30, 1998, was submitted by Nancy E. Gregg to the National Marine
Fisheries Service along with four petitions to delist other marine
mammal species under the ESA: the California sea lion (Zalophus
californianus), the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), the polar
bear (Ursus maritimus), and the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus
divergens). Although these four species are protected by the Marine
Mammal Protection Act, they are not currently listed under the ESA and
consequently cannot be considered for delisting. The southern sea otter
is a listed species under the ESA and is under the jurisdiction of the
Service. Therefore, the National Marine Fisheries Service forwarded the
petition to delist the southern sea otter to us. The petition, which we
received on May 13, 1999, requested that we remove the southern sea
otter from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.
Section 4(b)(3)(A) of the ESA requires that we make a finding on
whether a petition to list, delist, or reclassify a species presents
substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the
petitioned action may be warranted. We base the finding on information
in the petition and its supporting documentation, information in our
files, and other information available to us at the time the finding is
made. To the maximum extent practicable, we make this finding within 90
days of receipt of the petition and promptly publish notice of the
finding in the Federal Register. If we find that substantial
information was presented, we are required to commence a review of the
status of the species promptly, if one has not already been initiated
(50 CFR 424.14).
The factors for listing, delisting, or reclassifying species are
described at 50 CFR 424.11. We may delist a species only if the best
scientific and commercial data available substantiate that it is
neither endangered nor threatened for one or more of the following
reasons: (1) Extinction; (2) recovery; and/or (3) a determination that
the original data used for classification of the species as endangered
or threatened were in error.
In response to the petitioner's request to delist the southern sea
otter, we sent a letter to the petitioner on June 8, 1999,
acknowledging our receipt of the petition. We were unable to act upon
the petition due to the low priority assigned to delisting petitions in
accordance with our Listing Priority Guidance for Fiscal Years 1998
through 1999, which was published in the Federal Register on May 8,
1998 (63 FR 25502). Since 1999, higher priority work has not allowed us
to examine or to act upon the petition to delist the southern sea
otter.
Discussion
The petition offers no information on the population trends or
status of the southern sea otter to support the proposed administrative
action. Much of the material offered in support of the petition to
delist the southern sea otter refers to pinnipeds (seals, sea lions,
and walruses), marine mammals in general, or the Marine Mammal
Protection Act. The petition mentions sea otters only in passing, in a
quote from the April 7, 1981, testimony of C. Dale Snow, who testified
on behalf of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife before the
Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment
of the House Committee on Fisheries and Wildlife. Mr. Snow's testimony
was given in the context of congressional hearings on the
reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The excerpted
testimony reads as follows: ``(6) Seals, Sea Lions, Polar Bears,
Walrus, and Sea Otters: If these animals were removed from the [Marine
Mammal Protection]
Act, it might solve Oregon's problems, and probably
those of several other states. The Act would still afford the desired
protection for whales and manatees and yet allow management of a
valuable natural resource.'' Although the petitioner included the full
text of this testimony with the petition as supporting documentation,
this remark constitutes its sole mention of sea otters.
Mr. Snow's testimony relates primarily to the management of marine
mammals in Oregon under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and focuses
specifically on pinnipeds and salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in Oregon. It
does not provide any information about the status of southern sea
otters. Southern sea otters do not currently occur in northern
California or Oregon. Historically, southern sea otters ranged from
about mid-Baja California, Mexico, to at least northern California
(Wilson et al. 1991), and possibly as far north as Prince William Sound
in Alaska (reviewed in Riedman and Estes 1990). Currently, however,
southern sea otters occur only in central and southern California. The
mainland range of the southern sea otter extends from about Point
Conception, Santa Barbara County, to Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County. A
small experimental colony of southern sea otters also exists at San
Nicolas Island, Ventura County.
The petition does not provide a narrative justification for
delisting the southern sea otter under the ESA. We infer that the
petitioner advocates delisting the southern sea otter in the belief
that it would allow for the control of predation on anadromous
salmonids. In addition to the congressional testimony of Mr. Snow, the
petitioner cites as supporting information two reports concerning
anadromous salmonids. The petitioner states: ``These reports clearly
show that the Federal government's failure to delist these species is
the reason for the endangerment of the west coast salmon.''
We have no information to indicate that southern sea otters are
implicated in the decline of anadromous salmonids as the petitioner
suggests. Southern sea otters are not known predators of anadromous
salmonids. The diet of southern sea otters is composed almost entirely
of nearshore invertebrates (Riedman and Estes 1990). Although sea
otters of the subspecies Enhydra lutris lutris and E. l. kenyoni
consume fishes as well as invertebrates in areas of their range in
Russia and Alaska, predation on fishes in California, where the
southern sea otter occurs, is extremely rare (reviewed in Riedman and
Estes 1990).
Regardless, the effects of predation by a listed species are not a
relevant consideration in determining whether a species should be
considered for delisting under the ESA. As noted
[[Page 5863]]
above, we may delist a species only if the best scientific and
commercial data available substantiate that it is neither endangered
nor threatened. The petitioner provided no scientific or commercial
data to substantiate that the southern sea otter is extinct, has
recovered, or that the original data used to classify the southern sea
otter as threatened were in error.
Information in our files, and other information available to us,
does not support a finding that delisting of the southern sea otter
should be considered at this time. We recently published a final
revised recovery plan for the southern sea otter (Service 2003), which
reviews the current status of the species. Continuing threats to the
southern sea otter include disease, exposure to environmental
contaminants, intentional take (shooting), and potential entanglement
in fishing gear. Oil spills, which could occur at any time, threaten
the southern sea otter with catastrophic decimation or localized
extinction (Service 2003). The recovery plan gives recovery criteria
for the southern sea otter and states that the species will be
considered for delisting under the ESA when the average population
level over a 3-year period exceeds 3,090 animals. The most recent
spring survey recorded 2,505 southern sea otters (U.S. Geological
Survey, unpublished data), and the latest available 3-year running
average (for 2002) is only 2,268 animals.
Finding
We have reviewed the petition and its supporting documentation,
information in our files, and other available information. We find that
there is not substantial information indicating that delisting of the
southern sea otter may be warranted.
Information Solicited
When we find that there is not substantial information indicating
that the petitioned action may be warranted, initiation of a status
review is not required by the ESA. However, we regularly assess the
status of species listed as threatened or endangered and welcome any
information concerning the status of the southern sea otter. You may
submit any information at any time to the Field Supervisor, Ventura
Fish and Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES).
References Cited
Riedman, M.L. and J.A. Estes. 1990. The sea otter (Enhydra lutris):
behavior, ecology, and natural history. U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Biol. Rep. 90(14). 126 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2003. Final Revised Recovery Plan
for the Southern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis). Portland,
Oregon. xi + 165 pp.
U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division. 2003. Spring
2003 mainland California sea otter survey results. Memorandum from
B. Hatfield dated 9 June 2003.
Wilson, D. E., M. A. Bogan, R. L. Brownell, Jr., A. M. Burdin, and
M. K. Maminov. 1991. Geographic variation in sea otters, Enhydra
lutris. J. Mamm., 72(1):22-36.
Author
The primary author of this document is Lilian Carswell, Fish and
Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish and
Wildlife Office (see ADDRESSES section).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: November 14, 2003.
Steve Williams,
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 04-2558 Filed 2-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P