Washingtons outer coast is habitat for a population of more than 2,900 northern sea otters that originated from translocations conducted in 1969 and 1970

This $200,000 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program (CFDA 15.683) supports the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to provide the following key services:

1. Live sea otter stranding response and triage, including specialized expertise in sea otter handling, oil spill response, and disentanglement efforts.
2. Thorough workups of fresh dead sea otters to assess condition and ship carcasses to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center for further analysis, as well as conduct additional necropsies to determine causes of mortality.
3. Evaluate the incidence and impact of emerging diseases that may increase sea otter mortality or health risks.
4. Attend trainings associated with sea otter strandings and oil spill response.
5. Establish a new series of monthly surveys of beaches on Washington's outer coast and hire a paid intern to lead this monitoring effort and assist with sea otter stranding responsibilities.

The award period runs from November 1, 2024 to October 31, 2025. This grant supports WDFW's comprehensive approach to sea otter conservation, research, and rehabilitation in Washington state through the Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance program.

The population has grown steadily since that time and sea otter strandings in washington and northern oregon have increased concurrently, with a record 82 animals stranding in 2022. The objectives of this proposal for USFWS prescott sea otter stranding funds are for the washington department of fish and wildlife to provide qualified staff for 1) live sea otter stranding response and triage requiring skilled expertise in sea otter handling including out of habitat, oil spills, and disentanglements 2) conducting thorough workups of fresh dead animals to assess condition for shipping to USGS national wildlife health center in madison, WI, and to allow wdfw to conduct additional necropsies and sampling on carcasses not sent to nwhc to determine causes of mortality including human interactions, disease, or other natural causes 3) evaluating the incidence and impact of emerging diseases that may increase mortality or increase health risks to sea otters and 4) attendance at trainings associated with sea otter strandings and oil spill response. New initiatives in this proposal include the establishment of a new series of monthly surveys of beaches on washingtons outer coast and the hiring of a paid intern position to lead this effort and assist with sea otter stranding responsibilities.