My environmental law students and I spent half of Friday at the Monterey Bay Aquarium to learn about the marine environment and to see the Southern Sea Otter! What a blast! We saw the otters in the Bay as well as in the Aquarium habitats. And as a bonus, some unusual drama – a sea turtle attacking and munching on a small tuna in the “Open Sea” tank exhibit. (It’s the Aquarium’s largest tank exhibit, I think, with a 90 ft window.) I had never seen that before. I remember an Aquarium docent mentioning on a past occasion that the predators in the tank (for example sharks) do not go after the other fish because they are well-fed by the Aquarium staff. I guess somebody forgot to tell the sea turtle. (For a video of the sea turtle and the tuna, see my instagram @proftseming)

Apart from wandering the Aquarium exhibits, our class visit revolved around a formal discussion of the Southern Sea Otter, a species that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Sea Otters were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 18th and 19th century due to the fur trade. By the time the US entered into the 1911 North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty, which also provided some protections to sea otters, the population had been decimated. However, the Southern Sea Otter has made a remarkable come-back, though it is still listed as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in 1977. More importantly, recovery of the otter population in the Monterey Bay has also brought great benefits to the marine ecosystem. (The otter is a keystone species that helps to control the sea urchin population, which can do severe damage the kelp forest if left unchecked by otters.) However, in response to a petition by the Pacific Legal Foundation to de-list the Southern Sea Otter, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is now actively considering removing it from the protections of the ESA. ☹️ Boooooh. (For example, the ESA prohibits harassment of otters and allows for imposition of criminal penalties for violations.)

While the prospect of the Monterey Bay Sea Otters losing ESA protection might be dismaying, otters would still be covered by the protections of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. So, these amazing and beautiful animals should continue to thrive and be part of Monterey Bay and the California sea coast marine environment in the future.

By the way, shout-out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium which was so generous and kind to allow our class field trip as part of their Education Program’s “College Field Trips.” Thank you! What a great educational resource the Aquarium is! @montereybayaquarium