The Otter Project’s Top 2023 Priorities

January is traditionally a time to set goals for the upcoming year – and The Otter Project has big plans for 2023! As always, we are laser-focused on advancing coastal water quality and habitat protections that support California’s southern sea otter populations and the ecosystems they depend on. Read more about our plans for the upcoming year:

1. Support California’s Marine Protected Areas Decadal Review and advance recommendations to improve sea otter ‘hope spots’. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are legally protected underwater state parks – or sea otter ‘hope spots’. These ‘hope spots’ have now been active for ten years, meaning it’s time for a Decadal Review. The review will include a scientific evaluation, public scoping meetings, and panel discussions which will lead to improvements in MPA management and protections. The Otter Project will be instrumental in the public process that guides California Fish and Game Commission’s adaptive management actions coming out of the Decadal Review.

2. Protect the water quality of sea otter’s most pristine ocean habitats. Almost 50 years ago, the state set water quality protections prohibiting polluted runoff into the most pristine ocean areas off the California coast. Many of these protections overlap with critical habitat for the sea otter. However, in 2012, the state gave an exemption to allow stormwater runoff into these areas if certain conditions were met. Now, ten years after the exemptions were granted, we are witnessing widespread non-compliance. It is time for those who are polluting sea otter habitat to be held accountable.

3. Adopt new water quality protections, the first in 40 years, for the Point Sur Marine Protected Area to protect sea otters along the Central Coast. The Otter Project is advocating that the Water Boards nominate and adopt the Point Sur MPA as the first with water quality protections in over 40 years. Point Sur is a critical habitat for the sea otter and new water quality protections will prevent polluted runoff from Highway One and nearby grazing operations.

4. Support the development of a statewide Ocean Acidification Policy to prevent the mortality of shellfish that sea otters rely upon for their diet. The ocean is becoming more acidic, which has enormous implications on the health and productivity of marine ecosystems, including the shellfish that sea otters rely on for food. A new statewide Ocean Acidification Policy would help mitigate the devastating impacts of these environmental changes.

5. Address sources of pollution that harm sea otters in Elkhorn Slough. One of the principal threats to the southern sea otter’s recovery remains a lack of available habitat, exacerbating the otters’ risk to devastation from an oil spill, predation, or disease. Elkhorn Slough currently hosts 5% of the statewide population of sea otters, but is threatened by water quality and human impacts.

6. Ensure the Central Coast Agricultural Order curbs pesticide and fertilizer pollution that ultimately ends up in the ocean making water quality toxic for the sea otter. Water discharges from farms in California pose significant threats to water quality by transporting pesticides and excessive fertilizers to California’s coastline and causing toxic algal blooms that threaten sea otter health.

7. Ensure the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Designation is protective of sea otters. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary provides an exceptional opportunity to protect additional sea otter habitat and advance the first Tribal-nominated national marine sanctuary designation in the U.S. The nominated approximately 7,670 square-mile sanctuary, adjacent to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and the boundaries of Monterey Bay and Channel Islands national marine sanctuaries, aims to recognize and preserve Chumash tribal history and protect the area’s rich biodiversity, including the endangered sea otter.

8. Secure state funding to create a Vessel Speed Reduction program to incentivize safe shipping and reduce the likelihood of oil spills that would devastate the sea otter population of the California coast. One large oil spill could wipe out the entire population of southern sea otters. It is estimated that several thousand sea otters died in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a number at least equaling and probably exceeding the present size of the California sea otter population. The Otter Project is working to minimize the risk of an oil spill occurring by advocating for the management of vessel traffic in established vessel lanes.