Could sea otters save kelp forests off Northern California coast?
CTV
The health of the ocean off the Northern California coast is in trouble, as biologists have seen a massive die-off of the kelp forests that are essential to a healthy ecosystem. Scientists think bringing back sea otters may be one solution.
The health of the ocean off the Northern California coast is in trouble, as biologists have seen a massive die-off of the kelp forests that are essential to a healthy ecosystem. Scientists think bringing back sea otters may be one solution.
Sea otters may be adorable to look at and fun to watch, but what and how much they eat has put them at the centre of a debate.
Last summer, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began floating the idea of reintroducing sea otters to Northern California and Oregon. The agency is now holding public open houses, including one that took place Wednesday morning in Sausalito.
The problem is the kelp forests that have been dying off, thanks to an explosion of sea urchins. That's happening because sea stars, the urchin's primary natural predators, are being killed by rising water temperatures.
But the urchins' only other natural predator—sea otters—were hunted nearly to extinction in the 1800s for their fur. The idea is to bring them back to try to save the kelp.
"They eat a lot of sea urchins," said Southern Sea Otter Recovery Coordinator Lillian Carswell. "And by eating a lot of sea urchins, they help to defend the kelp from overgrazing. And when the kelp is protected, it tends to expand and create resilient kelp beds. Kelp beds support a really huge diversity of species in the marine environment."
In many places the ocean floor looks desolate, carpeted with nearly-dead urchins and not much else. They call them "urchin barrens."
