A standardized method to survey sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) was developed by WERC scientists and put into use in 1982 in California. Survey procedures involve counting animals during the "spring survey" -- generally beginning in April and ending in June or early July, depending on weather conditions.
Two-person teams use binoculars and spotting scopes to count individuals from accessible stretches of coastline and from fixed-wing aircraft in the remaining areas. The counts made from shore are plotted on maps and then entered into a spatial database. The aerial counts are entered directly into a geographic information system-linked database in the aircraft. The survey records the total otter numbers, the number of dependent pups, and the number of independents (adults and subadults), observed.
The surveys, conducted cooperatively by scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Monterey Bay Aquarium with the help of experienced volunteers, cover about 375 miles of California coast, from Half Moon Bay south to Santa Barbara. The information gathered will be used by federal and state wildlife agencies in making decisions about the management of this sea mammal. These data, in conjunction with findings from several more in-depth studies, also provide the necessary information to assess female reproductive rates and changes in reproductive success of the California sea otter population through time.
Spring survey results are used as an indicator of the population trend of California sea otters. No single year's survey result is indicative of a population change, however. Factors that can influence the count include viewing conditions, abundance and species composition of surface canopy kelp, observer experience, and distribution and movements of the animals.
To reduce the influence of anomalously high or low counts during any particular year, three-year running averages -- commonly called a "population index" -- of the survey results are also used to assess whether the population is growing or declining.
This population index is what is reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For southern sea otters to be considered for removal from threatened species listing, the population index would have to exceed 3,090 for three consecutive years, according to the threshold established under the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
