Defenders Magazine
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
Defenders Magazine
Defenders in Action: Southern Sea Otters May Go South
Animals don't understand human-made borders. But the arbitrary borders we draw can have devastating effects on wild creatures nonetheless. In the case of the threatened southern sea otter in California, a random boundary created in 1987 has kept this marine mammal from expanding its range, and could prevent the otters from fully recovering.
All of that may change soon, though. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees protections for endangered plants and animals, has recommended eliminating the "no-otter zone" that keeps the animals from migrating south to the Santa Barbara and Ventura coastlines. The zone was originally created to satisfy shellfish harvesters. Sea otters feed on abalone, crabs, sea urchins and other invertebrates, and the harvesters are concerned that these creatures' numbers will decline if otters are allowed to expand their range.
Prior to 1993, sea otters that swam into the zone were captured and moved back north. The capture and relocation had serious health effects on these rare and fragile animals, and resulted in the deaths of four out of 24 sea otters between 1987 and 1993. The practice also harmed the health of the environment. Without the sea otters to control urchins and other invertebrates, these grazers have overrun forests of kelp, on which they feed. Kelp forests are crucial for countless types of fish and invertebrates, and important to seals, sea lions and other animals.
After 1993, the Fish and Wildlife Service unofficially abandoned relocation. The service's current recommendation would make it official. "The time has come to eliminate the artificial boundary designed to prevent the sea otters from returning to their historic habitat in Southern California," says Jim Curland, marine associate for Defenders of Wildlife. "Allowing the sea otters to freely return to coastal Southern California makes good environmental and economic sense."
To that end, Defenders recently released a study by John Loomis, an environmental economist from Colorado State University, showing that an expanded sea otter population could generate millions of tourism dollars for California's economy. "The return of the sea otter will mean more jobs and will keep the kelp forests off the coasts of Santa Barbara and Ventura healthy for both fish and people," says Curland.
