It was just brought to your attention that the Alaskan sea otter population has been dropping steadily for the past ten years. You are the Marine Mammal Management officer of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service assigned to this investigation. Since sea otters are marine mammals, they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Consequently, the issue needs to be under federal investigation.

Local officials are uncertain about the cause of the decline. The Steller's sea lion population has shown a noticeable decline in recent years as well, but local experts are not clear whether there is a connection. There are a handful of potential causes with evidence implicating several culprits. Humans were once directly responsible for driving the sea otter to near extinction. Could we be solely responsible again?

You need to work quickly because the sea otter plays a very important role in the Alaskan ecosystem. Repercussions from their disappearance has already begun to show up.

As a management officer, you need to determine what action(s), if any, need to be taken to settle the matter in the best interest of the ecosystem and all of its inhabitants (this includes people). Some questions you might want to consider:

1. Where is the sea otter population declining, i.e. is this a localized problem?
2. What role do humans play in the population decline?
• Are we directly involved like we were in the 19th and early 20th century?
3. What is causing the decline? Don't rule out the potential for more than one cause.
4. What can be done from a management standpoint?