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Due to this great demand and worth of the sea otters pelt, the Russian-America Company (RAC) annual expenses was around 1000,000 rubles each year and profited over 500,000 rubles per year. [130] The fur of the Californian southern sea otter, E. l. nereis, was less highly prized and thus less profitable
The sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean.Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 and 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among [3] the smallest marine mammals.
The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly traded in China for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese goods, which were then sold in Europe and the United States.
By the end of the 19th century, California sea otters had been hunted to near extinction. The US government began to manage sea otter as a valuable natural resource in 1911. However, due to the previous two centuries of unregulated exploitation of the species, it was uncertain whether they would be able to revive the population. [3]
The sea otter was once abundant in a wide arc across the North Pacific ocean, from northern Japan to Alaska to Mexico. By 1911, hunting for the animal's luxurious fur had reduced the sea otter population to fewer than 2000 individuals in the most remote and inaccessible parts of its range. The IUCN lists the sea otter as an endangered species.
Both companies were exploring the possibilities of collecting sea otter pelts along the Pacific Northwest coast, via trade with the indigenous peoples, and selling the goods in China. The idea had its origins in Cook's third voyage, during which sea otter pelts obtained along the northwest coast of America, from Nootka Sound northwards, were ...
Russian expansion to Alaska followed the natural distribution of the Sea Otter. The sea otter boom and Russian America: The remnants of Bering's second expedition returned with more than 1500 sea otter pelts. At Kyakhta prices they were worth one tenth of the expedition's enormous cost. Russian fur-hunters began island-hopping along the ...
The sea otter, which has the densest fur of any animal, [15] narrowly escaped the fate of the sea mink. The discovery of large populations in the North Pacific was the major economic driving force behind Russian expansion into Kamchatka , the Aleutian Islands , and Alaska , as well as a cause for conflict with Japan and foreign hunters in the ...