Questions and answers about the amateur use of carbon fiber epoxy composites for bicycle frame construction, taken largely from my e-mail correspondence. Tip: In most operating systems, pressing Ctrl+F will bring up the Find (On this page) dialogue box.
Sea Otter. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family and the smallest marine mammal. Ninety percent of the worldâs sea otters live in coastal Alaska. The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects sea otters. It prohibits commercial harvest of sea otters, and allows Alaska natives to hunt sea otters for subsistence and creation of handicrafts. Sea otters were hunted nearly to extinction in the late 1700s and 1800s through commercial harvest for their luxurious furs. Once commercial harvest ceased, sea otter numbers rebounded and they re-colonized much of their former range. Sea otter numbers have declined in southwestern Alaska over the past 20 years.
Sea otters in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary are descendants of otters translocated from Alaska in 1969 and 1970. Modern efforts in sea otter conservation began in the early 19th century, when the sea otter was nearly extinct due to large-scale commercial hunting. The sea otter was once abundant in a wide arc across the North Pacific ocean, from northern Japan to Alaska to Mexico. By 1911, hunting for the animal's luxurious fur had reduced the sea otter population to fewer than 2000 individuals in the most remote and inaccessible parts of its range. During the 20th century, sea otter populations recovered from remnant populations in the far east of Russia, western Alaska, and California.