Sea otter recovery along the Pacific coast represents one of conservation most significant success stories, with cascading ecosystem benefits that improve conditions for countless species.
Sea otter recovery demonstrates how protecting a single species can generate ecosystem-wide welfare improvements. As otter populations have recovered, kelp forests have returned to areas that had become barren urchin barrens, providing habitat and food for the species that depend on kelp. Individual otter welfare is significantly supported by their remarkable tool-using behavior, social structures, and the abundance of prey that healthy kelp ecosystems provide. Ongoing threats to southern sea otters include bycatch in crab and lobster trap fisheries that cause drowning deaths, and expanding great white shark predation as both populations recover. Protecting otters protects entire coastal ecosystems.