Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for the Southwest Alaska Distinct Population Segment of the Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni)

We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), determine threatened status for the southwest Alaska distinct population segment of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). Once containing more than half of the world's sea otters, this population segment has undergone an overall population decline of at least 55-67 percent since the mid-1980s. In some areas within southwest Alaska, the population has declined by over 90 percent during this time period. This final rule extends the Federal protection and recovery provisions of the Act to this population segment.