External Affairs Program

Southern Sea Otter Victim of
Gunshot Wound

March 25, 2003

03-038

Contact: Lois Grunwald,
805/644-1766; email: Lois_Grunwald@fws.gov

SOUTHERN SEA OTTER VICTIM OF GUNSHOT WOUND
Otter fatally shot on San Luis Obispo County beach

A southern sea otter was shot dead March 22, 2003, at Montana de Oro State Park beach near
Los Osos in San Luis Obispo County, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).

A suspect has admitted to shooting the otter with a handgun, and the Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and California State Parks are investigating the incident. No arrests have been made. A necropsy will be performed by the Service's forensic laboratory in Ashland, Ore.

Southern sea otters are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and are protected by both federal and California law. Violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act carry a maximum penalty of one year confinement and a fine of $100,000.

The southern sea otter, a key species in the California marine ecosystem, was listed as threatened in 1977 under the ESA, and as a depleted species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.