Sea otters, which had been hunted to close extinction for his or her furry pelts on the Pacific coast a century in the past, could also be making a comeback in Northern California waters.
A feasibility examine launched this week by the US Fish and Wildlife Service suggests the species might be reintroduced into its historic habitat stretching from the San Francisco Bay to Oregon.
The report, which was offered to Congress earlier this month, makes no advice on whether or not reintroduction of the species ought to proceed. However he concludes that reintroduction is certainly attainable and factors to the worth of sea otters to the ocean ecosystem as an entire. Sea otters feed on mussels, crabs, and clams, so the plain draw back could be extra strain on the shellfish inhabitants and the industrial fishing business that depends upon it.
The price of the reintroduction was estimated at between $26 million and $43 million, to be unfold over a 13-year interval. The 172-page report was requested by Congress as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
“Sea otters play a essential position in our nearshore marine ecosystems,” stated Michele Zwartjes, report co-author and Oregon Coast discipline workplace supervisor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. “They’re a keystone species. They preserve stability in that system as a predator of sea urchins particularly.”
With out sea otters, sea urchin populations have exploded and devastated kelp forests, Zwartjes stated. Algae are very environment friendly at capturing carbon, a key component for world warming, so if the otters did finally return, it might assist revive them. kelp forests and seagrass beds. Seaweed and seagrasses present breeding and feeding habitat for fish and seabirds.
Economically, otters are additionally an awesome vacationer attraction, as a consequence of their desire for floating on their backs whereas utilizing instruments to open their prey, a photogenic course of.
“All of this underscores the essential position that sea otters play in restoring ecosystems,” Zwartjes stated.
Traditionally, sea otters lived alongside the coast and so far as Japan within the Pacific. The California coast had the southern sea otter, a subspecies that’s threatened. Fewer than 50 particular person otters are believed to have survived the maritime fur commerce, and the entire state’s sea otters are derived from that inhabitants. They’re principally from Half Moon Bay to Level Conception, in a slim vary.
“They have a tendency to remain in the identical space for many of their lives,” Zwartjes stated. “They solely have one cub per 12 months, and inhabitants development, as soon as established, is sluggish.”
The proliferation of white sharks has helped to realize this.
The northern sea otter inhabitants has reestablished itself from central Washington northward, however there is no such thing as a inhabitants to talk of on a 900-mile stretch of shoreline from that space’s finish level in Washington to Half Moon Bay. Otters generally seen on seacoasts and in bays are river otters, though they’re typically mistaken for sea otters.
If Congress decides to behave on the feasibility examine and ask the US Fish and Wildlife Service to introduce the endangered southern sea otter to California, the pups being bred on the Monterey Bay Aquarium might be left within the San Francisco Bay or different estuaries the place they might be protected. of sharks and excessive climate.
“Ultimately, these animals would reconnect with northern animals, which might enhance their skills to adapt to local weather change,” Zwartjes stated. “We’re hoping that when these animals re-establish themselves and begin feeding on urchins, it’s going to assist the algae inhabitants re-establish itself.”
Earlier than any of this might occur, there could be in depth outreach to coastal communities and stakeholders. There could be alternatives for public enter and particular socio-economic research could be carried out. It might be a protracted and sluggish course of.
“We’re dedicated to having an open and public collaboration on this idea,” Zwartjes stated. “Sea otters are a essential native part in restoring the stability of the marine ecosystem.”
Sam Whiting is a employees author for the San Francisco Chronicle. Electronic mail: [email protected]