Northern Sea Otter Management and Research

Management

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for managing sea otter populations. The sea otter is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act which prohibits direct harvest of marine mammals with the exception of subsistence hunting. In 1997, USFWS signed a cooperative agreement with the Alaska Sea Otter and Steller Sea Lion Commission. This agreement has been renewed annually since that time.