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                   U.S.-Russia Agreement on Cooperation 
                in the Field of Environmental Protection
    Area V: Protection of Nature and the Organization of Reserves 
               
                    Project 02.05-61  Marine Mammals
  Protocol of the Fifth U.S.-Russia Workshop on Sea Otter Biology
 
                    Paratunka, Kamchatka, Russia
                        September 7-12, 1995
 
The Fifth U.S.-Russia Workshop on Sea Otter Biology was held at 
Paratunka, Kamchatka, September 7-12, 1995.
 
Representing the U.S. side were:  J. Bodkin, A. Doroff,  C.
Gorbics, D. Jessup, M. Staedler, G. VanBlaricom,  P. Ward
 
Representing the Russian side were: A.G. Bazhin, A.M. Burdin,
V.N. Burkanov,   V.I.Gaydukov, E.A. Ivanyushina,  S.I. Kornev,
M.K. Maminov, A.P. Nikonorov,  D.A.Ryazanov, I.N. Shevchenko,
O.V.Trapezov, V.V. Vertyankin,  V.A. Vladimirov, S.N.Zagrebelniy,
N.P. Zimenko, M.Yu. Zasypkin
 
The meeting was opened by Vladimir Burkanov.
 
Valeriy Vladimirov thanked the meeting organizers for their
efforts, and extended greetings to the group on behalf of 
Amirkhan M. Amirkhanov, Deputy Minister of Environmental
Protection and Natural Resources, who expresses the Ministry's 
high evaluation of the collaboration between Russian and U.S. sea
otter specialists.
 
James Bodkin expressed the appreciation of the U.S. side to the
organizers of the Kamchatka meeting for hosting the U.S.
delegation.
 
The group stood to commemorate the passing of Vladimir Oshurkov,
a valued friend and scientist, and Vladimir Burkanov and Glenn
VanBlaricom offered words on behalf of the group.
 
David Jessup described the work of the Veterinary Services Unit
of the State of California's Office of Oil Spill Prevention and
Response (OSPR).  He spoke of the financing mechanism of the 
OSPR and its  mobile response capabilities, current and planned
rehabilitation centers and its research program.  Portions of the
doctoral thesis work of Jonna Mazet were presented, including a
description of field techniques for the detection of petroleum
products on sea otter fur.  Equipment used for this purpose and
the potential benefits were described in detail.
 
Oleg Trapezov examined the issue of holding captive sea otters in
the conditions of western Siberia.   He demonstrated that it is
possible to create a breeding population in captivity.  The most
realistic method of creating such a population is by selecting
from the wild individuals that lack fear of humans.
 
Michelle Staedler described the work she has conducted with Jack
Ames on studying drift patterns of radio telemetried sea otter
carcasses and "dummy otters" made out of tires.  Three trials
were done to date with all carcasses and dummies being released
in the same area and then tracked by radio.  The information
gained from the work  will assist in determining the use of
radio-transmittered tires that would be deployed at an oil spill
site to determine drift patterns of otter carcasses in areas
affected by the spill.
 
David Jessup described the work of Jonna Mazet on the links
between petroleum exposure and reproductive impairment in sea
otters.  American mink were used as a surrogate species in
external and internal exposure trials to Alaska North Slope crude
oil and Bunker fuel oil.   Additional health problems were noted,
and the experience of oil spills in California were cited.
 
Michelle Staedler spoke of studying a die-off of sea otters in
Monterey Bay, California , and methods of investigating possible
mortality factors.  The die-off was an unusual occurance for such
a small area in such a short amount of time.  Several
organizations were involved in collecting, studying and 
investigating the situation.  In spite of many tests for both man
made and natural toxins as well as bacteria, parasites, viruses
etc., no definitive causes of death common to all animals have
been identified  to date.  Tissues are being saved for future
testing.
 
Vladimir Burkanov reported on the overall issues of sea otter
protection in the Kamchatka region and on all the main
concentration points of these animals.  He presented information
on measures adopted by Kamchatrybvod on sea otter protection
measures in Kamchatka and the Commandor Islands.  He noted that
the problem of poaching is not as large as it was two years ago.
 
James Bodkin spoke of the history and status of founding and
translocated sea otter populations.   Methods of estimating
genetic diversity using MtDNA were described.  Haplotype
diversity in founding populations of Amchitka and Prince William
Sound, Alaska were compared to translocated populations in
Washington, British Columbia and Southeast Alaska.
 
Angela Doroff addressed the group with a presentation on harvest
levels and age-sex composition of subsistence-hunted sea otters
in Alaska.  She described the marking, tagging and reporting
program and data collected on gender and age.  Data were
presented on harvest percentages within management regions and
the estimated population abundance of sea otters within
management regions. 
 
Glenn VanBlaricom addressed the group on potential fishery
conflicts involving sea otters in the waters of Washington State.
 
He began with an historical overview of a reduction in various
sea otter prey species following the growth of the sea otter
population and expansion of their range.  The range of sea otters
in Washington State was noted along with the ranges of sea otter
prey species and their economic and recreational importance to
Washington State Native and non-native residents.   VanBlaricom
reviewed possibile management options available for use as sea
otters expand to additional habitats, some where conflicts with
human interests may occur.
 
Michelle Staedler described the interest of the Monterey Bay
Aquarium in genome resource banking.  A cryopreservation storage
program of sperm, embyos, tissues, blood and DNA would assist in
the preservation of sea otter genetic diversity.  The aquarium
would welcome the involvement of other sea otter scientists in
this banking process and to contribute, blood, sperm, eggs, and
tissues of all three sea otter subspecies (Russian, Alaskan and
Californian).
 
Glenn VanBlaricom spoke of the influence of sea otter predation
and recreational harvest on red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)
populations off central and northern California.  Sea otters
exert the greater effect on abalone demography, influencing
abalone density, size structure, and pattern of microhabitat use.
 
Recreational fishers also influence size structure and
microhabitat use.  Other factors, such as substratum
configuration, also influence abalone demography.
 
Glenn VanBlaricom addressed the configuration and variation of
kelp forests occupied by sea otters off Big Sur, California.   
All areas studied had established sea otter populations and low
densities of large grazing invertebrates such as sea urchins. 
Variation in benthic communities was substantial on all scales,
and generally did not correlate with environmental factors. 
Substratum configuration was the only factor clearly associated
with spatial pattern in some locations.  Models to explain
observed variation are complicated and require integration of
historical as well as environmental factors.
 
Angela Doroff presented data on the post-weaning survival of
juvenile sea otters in Prince William Sound Alaska to assess
population recovery following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. 
Juvenile females survived significantly better than males in the
control (unoiled);  there was evidence of intraspecific agression
which caused mortality for males.  Survival rates were lower in
the treatment (oiled) area than the control area.   It was not
possible to determine whether observed differences in survival
were due to chronic affects of oil or potential differences in
resource availabilty between the treatment and control areas.
 
James Bodkin spoke of using cementum layers in the first premolar
tooth for estimating ages of sea otters.   Estimates of accuracy
and precision were provided by comparing estimated to known ages.
 
Sergei Zagrebelniy presented information on the status of sea
otter protection on the Commandor Islands.  In 1994, the
Commandor Islands Fish Inspection Service located eleven sea
otters with bullet wounds, nineteen sea otters with fatal skull
wounds, and twenty-one sea otter carcasses that had their hides
removed.  The registering of hides of dead sea otters declined by
a factor of four.   According to unofficial data, on Bering
Island,  poachers harvest about 60 sea otters annually.
 
Nadezhda Zimenko reported data on the foraging activity of sea
otters in a defined aquatic territory near Glinka Harbor (Medniy
Island).  Through visual observations and mapping, zones of
intensive and limited foraging use were delineated.  Information
on the species and measurements of prey was studied, along with
relations of sea otter underwater and surface locations during
foraging, in regards to the number and distribution of prey.
 
Elena Ivanyushina examined the species composition and size
structure of the main sea otter prey, harvested using underwater
diving equipment in areas used to varying extent by sea otters
for foraging.  It was demonstrated that despite many years of
utilizing the study plot for foraging, the plot was quite rich
with foraging resources that support the sea otter group
inhabiting the site.
 
Elena Ivanyushina compared bottom communities, with emphasis on
sea otter prey, from various sites in the studied aquatic
territory at Glinka Harbor (Medniy Island); compared them with
data gathered the same year at nearby Cape Drovenskiy; compared
them with the average indices for Medniy Island using data from
1992; and compared them with data from Glinka Harbor aquired in
1972.  It was demonstrated, using large scale hydrobiological
research, that there was a likelihood of an underestimation of
the abundance of individual benthic groups.
 
Dmitriy Ryazanov presented the results of an experiment in age
evaluation using PM1 stained sections, made independently by
three researchers.  The methodology was applied to define the age
distribution of sufficiently large samples, but was not
appropriate for determining an exact age on an individual basis. 
To improve the methodology, standardization of reading layers
using samples from individuals of known age is essential.  
 
Aleksandr Burdin reported on the results of two years of research
on sea otter births at Bering Island.  Monthly abundance censuses
were conducted at the model plot in the northern part of Bering
Island and the number of pups were counted.  It was established
that most pups are born in April-May.  Therefore, annual sea
otter abundance censuses conducted in June-July allow us to
correctly evaluate the size of the annual additions to the
population.
 
Dmitriy Ryazanov presented information from now accessible
archaeological materials on the age composition of sea otters. 
The available information is incomplete, but allows us to make a
number of assumptions on past sea otter distribution and
abundance in Kamchatka.  Verification and expansion of their
beliefs is possible only with analogous archaeological efforts.
 
Mikhail Zasypkin reported on the results of studying sea otter
genetic markers using electrophoresis in  polyacrylic amino gel
(PAAG).  Forty-nine enzymes and eight non-enzyme proteins were
researched.    A high level of  allozyme variation was detected
(average heterogeneity = 0.057) along with interspecies genetic
heterogeneity.  A hypothesis was suggested capable of explaining
how in conditions of a long-term reduction in abundance, sea
otters have not lost genetic variability.
 
Sergei Kornev presented data for the period 1984-93 on sea otter
observations collected at a Kamchatrybvod station at Cape Lopatka
 
 He presented data on seasonal distribution, abundance, and
natural deaths of sea otters for a 10 year period.  Additionally,
the dependence of distribution, abundance and mortality on
seasons and a number of other abiotic factors were examined. 
Variations in the maximal abundance were noted from 1,800 in 1984
to 550 in 1989 and 2,500 in 1993.  From 1984 to 1993 1,710 sea
otter carcasses were found at Cape Lopatka.  Kornev also
presented data on bear predation at sea otter haul out sites
dependant on bear activity during the year, relative to food
availability  (salmon).  The annual dynamics of visitations to 
haul out sites by bears and the numbers of sea otters taken were
presented.   The number of visits to haul out sites were compared
for the winter and summer periods.  The role of the bear  in
habitat areas shared with sea otters, leads not only to the bear
in its role of beach scavenger, but also as a substantial
regulator of sea otter abundance in years that yield poor food
availability for brown bears.
 
Carol Gorbics described the status of the Alaska sea otter stock
considering geographic range, minimum population estimate,
maximum productivity rate, population trend, and total human
caused mortality.  This information was used to develop a
potential biological removal level describing the total number of
animals that could be removed from the overall Alaska sea otter
population while still allowing the population to remain within
an optimum sustainable population range.  This was compared with
the total number of otters killed due to human activities to
determine that the overall status of the population was stable on
a state-wide basis.  However, Native harvest may cause some
localized declines to subpopulations due to increasing localized
harvest.
 
Aleksandr Nikonorov reported on the history of sea otter groups
in Kronotskiy Nature Reserve.  Sea otters established themselves
at Kronotskiy Nature Reserve in about 1970.  The first groups
were noticed in 1971.  Up to the present day 102  sea otter
carcasses have been recovered.  A slow reduction in group
abundance can be noted along with gradual changes in sea otter
distribution.  In the collections of Kronotskiy Nature Reserve
are 45 sea otter skulls and two complete skeletons.  
Along the Kronotskiy coast, sea otters have many real and
potential enemies (brown bear, wolverine, Steller's sea eagle).
 
Ilya Shevchenko presented data on abundance dynamics of sea
otters from the Commandor Islands population for the period
1988-1993.  Data were presented on sea otter abundance on Medniy
Island (1988-1995).  The minimal abundance was registered in
1993.  In 1995 the abundance of sea otters remained at its
previous low level.  Sea otter linear density at control plots
generally did not exceed 0.7-4.2 females per kilometer.
 
Mikhail Maminov presented many years of data on the age of and
seasonal weight variability in testicles and ovaries and the
amount of spermatozoids among reproductively active sea otter
males and females and for female otters in estrous.  Data were
gathered on the seasonal dynamics of pup abundance.  This allowed
for an expansion and refinement of the data on the age of sexual
maturity, reproductive activity and sea otter pups on the Kurile
Islands.
 
Vladimir Vertyankin reported on the results of a sea otter census
at Kronotskiy Nature Reserve in 1995 and expanded on census data
from previous years.  The abundance of the Kronotskiy group in
1995 had declined in comparison with previous years and, based on
a marine census, comprised 300 individuals.  In April only 5 sea
otters were noted which can be explained by difficult ice
conditions.  An opinion was voiced that sea otters migrate to
southern Kamchatka in winter.
 
Vladimir Vertyankin presented a report on the abundance of sea
otters of the Commandor Islands.  The maximum abundance of sea
otters was noted in 1990 at 6,200 individuals.  The peak birth
rate was noted in 1993 at 1,138 pups.  The greatest sea otter
density was noticed in the northern part of Bering Island.  On
Medniy Island significant changes in sea otter abundance have not
occurred in recent years.
 
Vladimir Burkanov demonstrated that the distribution range of the
main sea otter groupings in Kamchatka did not expand in the
period 1983-1995.  There is a potential for an expansion of the
sea otter range in Kamchatka.  The contemporary range of this
species has not reached its historic borders.
 
Valeriy Gayukov reported on the status of sea otter law
enforcement measures in the northern Kurile Islands of Paramushir
and Shumshu.  Despite the efforts of the fish inspection service,
large scale sea otter poaching continues.
 
James Bodkin described the nearshore vertebrate predator project
being implemented in Prince William Sound, Alaska to evaluate the
process of the recovery of sea otter populations affected by
the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
 
 
Proposed Collaborative Activities:
 
Joint proposals:
 
1.  Continue to exchange sea otter tissues for comparative
studies of genetics, contaminants, and other aspects of natural
history with maximum provision of life history data for the
subject animals (gender, age, etc.)
 
Russian side proposes:
 
1.   To consider inviting one U.S. specialist in 1996 to complete
efforts in researching the history of the sea otter harvest in
Russian and Alaskan waters in the 18th and 20th centuries.
 
2.   To consider inviting 2-3 U.S. specialists in 1996 for joint
field research on Bering Island involving marking and the
collection of biological materials from living and deceased sea
otters.
 
3.  To consider inviting 2-3 U.S. specialists in 1997 to
participate in an expedition to study benthic communities and the
sea otter population on the Kronotskiy Peninsula.
 
4.  To consider inviting 2-3 U.S. specialists to participate in
joint research of benthic communities of the Commandor Islands in
1996 and in 1997.
 
5.  To consider inviting 2-3 U.S. specialists in 1997 to
participate in an expedition studying the influence of sea otters
on benthic communities of the Commandor Islands. 
 
6.  To consider inviting 1-2 U.S. specialists to participate in a
sea otter vessel survey in Kamchatka and the Northern Kuriles in
1996 if a vessel is available.
 
7.  That the U.S. side examine the possibility of conducting oil
product origin and identification analysis when Russian sea otter
habitat is contaminated by oil products.
 
8.  To conduct genetic research of sea otter tissue using
electrophoresis.  The Russian side expresses its interest in
receiving appropriate samples from sea otters of the U.S.
population.
 
 
U.S. side proposes:
 
1.  To  consider inviting two or three Russian specialists to
participate in studies of sea otters and benthic ecosystems in
Southeast Alaska in 1996 or 1997.
 
2.  To continue cooperative research on sea otter diving behavior
using time depth recorders and radio transmitters at the
Commander Islands in 1996 or 1997.
 
3.   To consider hosting one or two Russian specialists at the
Monterey Bay Aquarium for approximately one month in 1996 for
familiarization with tagging and capture techniques and
research efforts.  
 
4.  To invite one Russian specialist to participate in the
continuation of studies of historical records of sea otter
hunting in Russian and U.S. waters, and to participate in
comparative studies of sea otter population dynamics and natural
history.
 
5.   To hold the next U.S.-Russia sea otter workshop in Seattle,
Washington, USA, or nearby location, in 1997 and to invite the
participation of sea otter specialists from Canada, Japan, and
Mexico.
 
Signed 12 September, 1995 in English and Russian texts, both
versions being identical and equally authentic.
 
 
For the Russian side              For the U.S. side
 
(signed)                          (signed)  
______________________            _____________________
Valeriy A. Vladimirov             James L. Bodkin
 
(signed)                          (signed)
_____________________             _____________________
Vladimir N. Burkanov              Glenn R. VanBlaricom