Sea Otters In Southeast

Cute or Not

The shellfish, mariculture, and dive fisheries have thrived over the past 25 years.  However, due to predation of the sea otter, the fisheries have experienced a dramatic decrease to the point of extinction.

​

Shellfish, dive fisheries, and mariculture industry is a Southeast Alaskan industry that supports over 50 divers and additional ancillary businesses and services, generating over $2 million in revenue a year.  These industries are managed by the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game to maintain a sustainable population.  However, ADFG is not able to manage the sea otters. 

​

The US Fish and Wildlife has the authority to oversee the sea otters in Alaska, without guidance or recommendations from the State.  The USFWS does not manage the sea otter population with a conservation mindset or in a sustainable way; rather it takes the approach of preservation; let the sea otters flourish without consequence.  The USFWS purports it is to protect the sea otter and not consider the magnitude that the sea otter has had on Alaska’s managed resources.

​

This conflict between managing the State’s shellfish resources and protecting an over populating predator is causing the depletion of the shellfish industry to catastrophic means.

​

​

​