[CINC] 11/11 & 11/12 FSTS LECTURE SERIES: Recovery of Sea Otters in So. CA

[Shauna Bingham]

Channel Islands National Park News Release
November 6, 2008
For Immediate Release
Yvonne Menard, Channel Islands National Park (805) 658-5725
Shauna Bingham, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (805) 382-6151 
#102

*Recovery of Sea Otter Populations in Southern California Waters*

During the November "From Shore to Sea" lectures, Greg Sanders, a senior 
biologist with Minerals
Management Service, will offer a history of sea otters along the 
California coast including their near
extinction, current threats, and recovery efforts.

The southern sea otter has been listed as a threatened species under the 
Endangered Species Act
since 1977. Sanders' presentation will provide updated information about 
the return of southern sea
otters to portions of their historic range in southern California 
waters. He will also discuss the
expansion of the sea otter population southward and its effect on people 
and marine life.

Sea otters historically were found across the north Pacific, from the 
northern islands of Japan to Baja
California. A lucrative fur trade began in the 18th century, reducing 
the California sea otter
population from approximately 16,000 sea otters to as few as 50 
individuals by 1911. Currently,
approximately 2,700 sea otters live along the central coast of California.

Sanders graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 
1983 with a degree in aquatic
biology. In 1987, he was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to 
help implement the southern
otter recovery and translocation program. After nearly two decades of 
working with sea otter issues,
Sanders joined the Minerals Management Service in 2003, as the Pacific 
Region's marine mammal
and seabird biologist.

The "From Shore to Sea" lecture series is jointly sponsored by Channel 
Islands National Park and
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary with generous support from 
Santa Barbara Maritime
Museum. The purpose of the series is to further the understanding of 
research on the Channel
Islands and surrounding waters. The lectures occur at 7:00 p.m. on 
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, at
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way in the Santa Barbara 
Harbor and Wednesday,
November 12, 2008, at the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. 
Lagomarsino Visitor Center,
1901 Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor. The programs are free and 
open to the public.
This publication is available on line at: 
www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/newsreleases.htm

-- 
Shauna Bingham 
Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator
NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
3600 S. Harbor Blvd. #111
Oxnard, CA 93035
Shauna.Bingham at noaa.gov
(805) 382-6149 ext. 102
Fax (805) 382-9791
http://channelislands.noaa.gov

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