Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act

- Madam Speaker, I rise today as I do every year, to call attention to the 8th Annual Sea Otter Awareness Week, September 26- October 2, 2010, sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife. This week-long event provides the opportunity to educate the broader public on sea otters, their natural history, the integral role they play in the near- shore marine ecosystem, and the conservation issues they are facing.

In the early 1700's, before wide-scale hunting began, sea otters ranged across the North Pacific rim from Japan to Baja California. The worldwide population estimates for that time range from the hundreds of thousands to more than one million. Before the hunting began, there were approximately 16,000-20,000 along California's coast. But killing these animals for their fur all but decimated the population until they were thought to be extinct off the coast of California by the early 1900's.

However, in the 1930's a small population of less than 100 animals was discovered in a remote cove on a coastal ranch in Big Sur, on the Central Coast of California. Since that time, groups such as Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter and Ocean Conservancy have raised public awareness and helped protect this important species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. The presence of the California sea otter has become an icon of the state's coastal environment and culture, and these charismatic animals bring significant tourism revenue to Californian coastal communities.

Still, sea otter populations remain threatened. This year's three year population average, counted by the U.S. Geological Survey, totals only 2,711 animals, a 3.6 percent drop in overall population, and 11 percent drop in otter pups since 2009. This is the second year in a row that the population has been in decline. The annual survey saw a decrease in otter numbers throughout their range, and particularly in areas where much of their reproduction occurs. These latest numbers are of great concern and researchers have begun to identify indirect hazards for sea otters such as non-point source pollution, pathogens, and entrapment in fisheries gear that are causing their population growth to reverse. Data also suggests that breeding-age females are dying in higher than usual numbers from multiple causes, including infectious disease, toxin-exposure, heart failure, malnutrition, and shark attacks.

Each day, research is uncovering additional causes of sea otter population declines. A recent study reveals that mycrocystin, a toxic algae that forms in reservoirs, lakes and stagnant freshwater ponds, is responsible for the deaths of at least 21 sea otters in the Monterey Bay area and researchers state that this is the first ever documentation of a freshwater algal bloom being transmitted to upper- level marine mammals. Such realizations support the need for continued research and preventive measures to respond to these issues, while continuing to ward against the direct killings and takings that still occur.

Sea otters are integrally important to the ecosystem in which they live. For this reason, the decline of southern sea otters off of the California coast not only impacts the species itself, but it affects other marine populations and the surrounding ecosystem. The demise of sea otters allows their prey, sea urchins, to proliferate unchecked leading to the alarming overgrazing of kelp beds--one of the oceans nursery grounds for many marine animals. Research shows that the absence of sea otters has a direct link to the sharp decline of kelp along portions of California's coast. Further, the sea otter is effective at monitoring toxins and diseases in the marine environment, which can affect the health of humans and other wildlife.

California took the first step toward addressing these emerging concerns by signing Assembly Bill 2485 into law. This bill establishes a state fund for sea otter conservation where Californians have the option of donating a portion of their tax returns to sea otter conservation. I want to emphasize that this means that Californians voluntarily pay a little more on their tax return to help protect these animals.

Even during these trouble economic times, more than $228,903 has been raised already this year.

However, this is a federally protected species and California cannot go it alone. In addition to continuing to work with my colleagues to secure Federal funds to support a continued and complete recovery of the population, I am proud that H.R. 556, The Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act, was passed by the House of Representatives in July of 2009. This tremendous success was buoyed by the support and devotion of many people. In the other house, Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced a companion bill, S. 1748, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation on June 9 by unanimous consent. The Committee hopes to move the bill later this year as a part of their omnibus public lands legislative package. We are just a few steps away from at last making the act into law and bringing needed resources to this threatened species.

Madam Speaker, I applaud the many accomplishments of Defenders of Wildlife, who carry out the important mission to preserve our nation's wildlife and habitat. I also applaud the other nonprofit environmental organizations, working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, researchers, fishermen, state and federal agencies, schools, and many other institutions and individuals, who devote tremendous effort to protect and recover the southern California sea otter. Sea Otter Awareness Week is just one of their many activities geared towards honoring and saving this species, and I am proud to be associated with this vital work.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the 7th Annual Sea Otter Awareness Week, September 28-October 3, 2009, sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife. This week-long event provides the opportunity to educate the broader public about sea otters, their natural history, the integral role that sea otters play in the near- shore marine ecosystem, and the conservation issues they are facing.

In the early 1700's, before wide-scale hunting began, sea otters ranged across the North Pacific rim from Japan to Baja California. The worldwide population estimates for that time range from the hundreds of thousands to possibly a million or more. Before the hunting began, there were approximately 16,000-20,000 along California's coast. Killing these animals for their fur brought down their numbers until they were thought to be extinct off California by the early 1900s.

But they were not driven completely to extinction. In the 1930's a small population, of less than 100 animals that had escaped the hunt, was discovered in a remote cove on a coastal ranch in Big Sur, on the Central Coast of California. Since that time, groups such as Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter, and Ocean Conservancy have raised public awareness and helped protect this important species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. The presence of the California sea otter has become an icon of the state's coastal environment and culture, and these charismatic animals bring significant tourism revenue to Californian coastal communities.

The three year population average, counted by the U.S. Geological Survey this year, totals only 2,813 animals, a decrease of half a percent and the first such decline in over a decade. These numbers are significantly less than what is necessary to consider the population decline in recent years is highly concerning. Researchers are beginning to identify indirect hazards for sea otters such as non-point source pollution, pathogens, and entrapment in fisheries gear that are causing their population growth to reverse. Such realizations support the need for continued research and preventive measures to respond to these issues, while continuing to ward against the direct killings/takings that still occur.

The decline of Southern Sea Otters off of the California Coast not only impacts the species itself, but it affects other marine populations and the surrounding ecosystem because Sea Otters are what scientists refer to as a keystone species. This means that they are integrally important to the ecosystem in which they live. The demise of sea otters allows their prey, sea urchins, to proliferate unchecked leading to the alarming overgrazing of kelp beds--one of the oceans nursery grounds for many marine animals. Research shows that the absence of sea otters has a direct link to the sharp decline of kelp along portions of California's coast. Further, the Sea Otter is also what scientists refer to as a sentinel or an indicator species. In this way, the

Sea Otters are the canaries in the coal mine for our coastal health. The Sea Otters are all too effective at monitoring toxins and diseases in the marine environment, which can affect the health of humans and other wildlife.

California took the first step toward addressing these emerging concerns by signing into law California Assembly Bill 2485, establishing a state fund for sea otter conservation: again this year Californians had the option of donating a portion of their tax returns to sea otter conservation. I want to emphasize that this means that Californians voluntarily pay a little more on their tax return to help protect these animals. Even during these trouble economic times, more than $220,000 has already been raised this year.

However, this is a federally protected species and California cannot go it alone. In addition to continuing to work with my colleagues to secure Federal funds to support a continued and complete recovery of the population, I am proud that H.R. 556, The Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act was passed by the House of Representatives this past July. This tremendous success was buoyed by the support and devotion of many people. We are one step closer to making the act into law and bringing needed resources to this threatened species.

Madam Speaker, I applaud the many accomplishments of Defenders of Wildlife, who carry out the important mission to preserve our nation's wildlife and habitat. I also applaud the other nonprofit environmental organizations, working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, researchers, fishermen, state and federal agencies, schools, and many other institutions and individuals, who devote tremendous effort to protect and recover the southern/California sea otter. Sea Otter Awareness Week is just one of their many activities geared towards honoring and saving this species, and I am proud to be associated with this vital work.

Mr. Speaker, the southern sea otters are a keystone species, as the chairwoman pointed out. That means that if they break the chain, the whole ecological system falls apart. And essentially, what you find in the oceans are the sea urchins are kind of like the snails of the ocean. They eat the seaweed. And if the sea urchins go unchecked, you'll clearcut the oceans and have no habitat for all the fish and other things that live in the kelp beds.

So the sea otters, by eating urchins--and frankly, we have a big urchin industry in California as well--have been compatible for years and years. The problem we have with the southern sea otters is that it's a remarkable recovery, and it's a tribute to Federal law that listed them, because they were less than 100 animals, and now they're up to about 2,000.

But guess what? They're not growing and there are less than there were a few years ago. So there is something happening to this species that nobody can understand. And that's why you need specific legislation to try to get--as the bill points out, it's a research bill.

And I want to point out to the ranking member, Mr. Hastings, that where he pointed out that we shouldn't have these management sort of by single caveat, although we have done, in law, the African Elephant, the Bald and the Golden Eagle--and I know those are important to you in your district--the Tule Elk Preservation Act, the Fur Seal Act, the Crown of Thorns Starfish Act, the North Pacific Halibut Act, the Salmon Conservation Act, and the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation; those are just 8 which I could quickly find, and I'm sure there's a lot more.

I think that the crisis here of the sea otter, and, frankly, it's a big economic issue, too, because those of us who live along the central coast of California, it is a big draw for tourism, and that's why the Monterey Bay Aquarium, their single-most looked at and visited exhibit is the sea otters.

So this bill came about with a lot of work from a lot of organizations. There's 13 organizations that have gone in support of this bill and brought these issues to us, including the Defenders of Wildlife, Friends of the Sea Otter, The Humane Society of the United States, the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Counsel, Oceana, and many others, and they represent about 14 million members.

So I'm pleased that we were able to work out this bill with the committee and bring it to the floor and hopefully get it adopted so that we can figure out why this canary species, if the sea otters are dying, then something else is happening that is very keen to the coastal and near-shore environment that affects the well-being of mankind.

So I would appreciate your support on this bill. It is important to good science and to the preservation of our marine ecosystem.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 556) to establish a program of research, recovery, and other activities to provide for the recovery of the southern sea otter, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, growth of the southern sea otter population has been slow over the last decade because of high mortality rates. Otters die from many causes, including disease and parasites, malnutrition and entanglement in fishing gear. Additional action is needed to ensure the recovery of these animals is a success.

H.R. 556, introduced by our colleague Congressman Sam Farr of California, would direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to implement a program that would address the decline of the southern sea otter by looking at health, mortality, and life history parameters, develop measures to reduce factors impacting marine ecosystems, health and human activities that limit sea otter populations, and to do so in accordance with consensus recommendations made by the Service's published Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan.

H.R. 556 has been substantially revised since it was introduced, largely

to address concerns of coastal fishing interests. The bill also benefited from further changes to streamline the recovery and research grant program and clarify its scope as it advanced through the committee process.

H.R. 556 is necessary to provide a stable and reliable source of funding for critically needed research, monitoring, and implementation of recovery actions. Its provisions would apply directly to southern sea otters, but because these otters are a keystone and a sentinel species, H.R. 556 would also benefit the California coastal ecosystem as a whole.

So I urge Members, Mr. Speaker, to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 556, the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act.

I want to thank my neighbor, Sam Farr, for introducing this legislation, which I have cosponsored. We both represent districts that are home to the southern sea otter, and so this topic is of great concern to me and my constituents.

Sea otters on the California coast are dying. A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey found that otter populations are down 3.8 percent from last year, the fastest decline since the 1990s.

We need to act, and we need to act now.

Scientists believe that these elevated mortality rates are linked to water pollution, but continued research is needed to clearly understand the pathways of diseases and to learn how to protect the sea otter. And we need to take concrete action to recover the population.

H.R. 556 requires the Fish and Wildlife Service, in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, to carry out just such a research and recovery program.

This program requires monitoring, analysis, and assessment of population health and mortality, and directs the agencies to find ways to reduce or eliminate those factors that might be causing the decline in sea otter populations.

The health of Central California's marine ecosystem and economy depends in large part on the health of the sea otter.

Sea otters are keystone species and economic drivers. By foraging on sea urchins they help to maintain a lively kelp forest environment. Kelp forests, in turn, influence oceanographic patterns, ensure a healthy habitat for many commercially important fish species, and provide countless recreational opportunities. As a symbol of California, sea otters also bring in droves of tourists who want to nature watch and purchase merchandise.

This bill is not just about preserving one species, but about preserving an ecosystem, an economy, and a way of life. In these uncertain times, we must fight to preserve all that we can. The science is clear; the sea otters need our help. And, quite frankly, we need theirs.

I urge all of my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 556.