skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Otters at Risk for Boat Strikes as CA Salmon Season Opens

play audio
Play

Monday, March 29, 2021   

MONTEREY BAY, Calif. -- Salmon season starts this coming weekend, and it's expected to draw hundreds of fishing boats to the central coast.

Conservation groups are asking anglers to be especially careful not to hit any sea otters, which tend to congregate in the harbors, sea channels, kelp beds and rocky near-shore areas.

Andrew Johnson, California representative for Defenders of Wildlife, pleaded with people to take their time and not just rush out to sea.

"We've documented about 50 boat-strike deaths of sea otters over the last 15 or 18 years, and a fair number of those have been during salmon season," Johnson reported. "So we know that during this time of increased boating traffic does put the sea otters at risk."

He said sea otters are vulnerable because they often pop to the surface suddenly while eating, and often are too preoccupied to pay attention to boats.

The risk of boat strikes is particularly acute at Moss Landing, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Morro Bay harbors.

Johnson noted sea otters used to be hunted for their pelts, until the federal government listed them as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1977.

"There were historically estimated to be about 15,000 otters in California," Johnson explained. "The population has rebounded; they were almost extinct. There were only a few dozen animals left along the Big Sur coast. They've expanded up to about 3,000 animals."

Sea otters once graced the coastline from the entire Pacific Rim. Now, their range in California starts about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara and ends 50 miles south of San Francisco.

Disclosure: Defenders of Wildlife contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Energy Policy, Environment, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021