Defenders' Experts
Canadian Sea Otter Management and Policy
In June 2002, the Minister of Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO) formed a recovery team to develop a draft National Recovery Strategy for the Sea Otter in British Columbia.
In June 2003, the Species At Risk Act (SARA) was established and it requires recovery planning by the responsible minister, which, in this case, for sea otters is DFO. Following development of the recovery strategy, the second step in the recovery process is the preparation of an action plan.See the DFO for the draft action plan (that was released in January 2004, revised later to a version that came out in September 2004.
In addition to recovery planning, SARA also “prohibits killing, harming, harassing, capturing and taking sea otters, damaging or destroying sea otter residences and any part of sea otters’ ‘critical habitat’”.
Given the vulnerability of a relatively small population that is limited by a narrow geographic distribution, here are the following key Recovery Strategy Goal and Objectives, as outlined by the draft action plan:
- threat clarification research;
- population assessment;
- protection;
- communications;
- identification of critical habitat.
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