Ditch the float, come back for it later, or go to jail. 
Sea Otter on dive float
- Thread starter The Dive Life
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Wookie
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Yes, Monterey.
Well, that's about the cutest thing I ever saw in my life....
I'd have one or a dozen for sure if they were in Florida. I'd buy floats just so the otters have a place to hang out near the boat. I'm sorry The Dive Life, I know it's a serious question and a real issue to you, but that's just adorable.
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Lobsters have claws. Florida has sea cockroaches. But you have a point. They would all get shot by the lobstermen. We're having a problem right now with fishermen slashing the throat pouches of brown pelicans. [sarcasm]Seems they are eating all the fish.[/sarcasm]
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Maybe??? The California fishing industry is heavily influenced by Italian and Portuguese immigrants early in the last century so I suspect that they are also contenders. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife calls them Spiny Lobsters if I remember right, but it just gets shortened to Lobsters much like in Florida and the Caribbean.
---------- Post added March 9th, 2015 at 03:06 PM ----------
Better yet, let us know if you can get a definitive answer in writing from the bureaucrats in that alphabet soup of Federal and State agencies with oversight authority. The Monterey Bay Aquarium might be a starting point for which agencies have to assure you that this overall perception might be overstated.
Seems like a lot of trouble and potential liability for a float with a few extra weights in it.
Last edited:
KevinNM
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Text of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) :: NOAA Fisheries
(13) The term "take" means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.
....
A) The term "harassment" means any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance which
(i) has the potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or
(ii) has the potential to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering.
(B) In the case of a military readiness activity (as defined in section 315(f) of Public Law 107314; 16 U.S.C. 703 note) or a scientific research activity conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government consistent with section 1374 (c)(3) of this title, the term "harassment" means
(i) any act that injures or has the significant potential to injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild; or
(ii) any act that disturbs or is likely to disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of natural behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, surfacing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering, to a point where such behavioral patterns are abandoned or significantly altered.
---------- Post added March 9th, 2015 at 04:31 PM ----------
Call these guys:
Contact NMFS Office of Protected Resources :: NOAA Fisheries
Text of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) :: NOAA Fisheries
Section 105. Penalties 16 U.S.C. 1375
Sec. 105. (a)(1) Any person who violates any provision of this title or of any permit or regulation issued thereunder, except as provided in section 118, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $10,000 for each such violation. No penalty shall be assessed unless such person is given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation. Each unlawful taking or importation shall be a separate offense. Any such civil penalty may be remitted or mitigated by the Secretary for good cause shown. Upon any failure to pay a penalty assessed under this subsection, the Secretary may request the Attorney General to institute a civil action in a district court of the United States for any district in which such person is found, resides, or transacts business to collect the penalty and such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action.
(2) In any case involving an alleged unlawful importation of a marine mammal or marine mammal product, if such importation is made by an individual for his own personal or family use (which does not include importation as an accommodation to others or for sale or other commercial use), the Secretary may, in lieu of instituting a proceeding under paragraph (1), allow the individual to abandon the mammal or product, under procedures to be prescribed by the Secretary, to the enforcement officer at the port of entry.
(b) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this title or of any permit or regulation issued thereunder (except as provided in section 118) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $20,000 for each such violation, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
From that description I am not sure you could call reclaiming your float to be considered harassment. I have seen an otter go from float to float in Monterey throwing out the weight and then popping it before moving on to the next one to repeat it all over. Popped 5 floats! But I would also be concerned of confronting one. They might look cute, but they could cause some serious damage.
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