nature of things - Sea Otters

[Pablo2079]

Watched "Nature of Things" on CBUT the other night. They were talking about the impact of the reintroduction of Sea Otters to the NW coast of Vancouver Island.

Sounds like they have a good argument for their re-introduction.... Did anyone else see it?

 

[likwit]

didn't see the show, what was the argument for?

talking to a fellow from kyuquot, he said all the otters there are decimating all the shellfish and crab populations wherever they are.

that's about all i know on the topic...

 

[wasabi]

They also control the urchin population. Urchins eat kelp.

 

[Pablo2079]

Their argument is that the kelp forests have returned, more baitfish, more groundfish and salmon. They do eat a lot of shellfish and mussels though, but it sounds like they bring balance back to the ecosystem. They used some areas in Alaska as examples of how strong the populations have gotten that they allow native hunting of the otters.

As they expand their range, the areas they move into do take some time to balance. I think that's the problem in that initially, all the locals see are a bunch of otters eating everything in sight.

 

[likwit]

yeah... we were kayaking up there.

there certainly was alot of kelp where we where... the forests looked nice and healthy, which was nice to see.

 

[JuandeOne]

Was up at Kyuquot last summer and it is a joke how many there are. One quick pan of the water heading out and you can spot 20-30 no problem.

The locals laughed when they saw our crab traps, apparently the area has been decimated of large invertebrates for years.

Time for another coastal fur trade.

 

[firstlight]

Buddy was talking to a guy on the local flow and he watched a pair of Otters dragging two Steelhead up out of the river and under a Gazibo in someones yard.
He said it wasnt very long between catches.

On the same flow another buddy was fishing and seen a large dark mass floating down towards him and just then the Seal popped its head up and they both got a bit of a scare.
He said it was something to see it wiggle its way out of the tail-out and down to the next swimmable section.
This was high enough up the river that nobody would dream of seeing a Seal up there.

 

[c.r.angler]

quote:Originally posted by firstlight

Buddy was talking to a guy on the local flow and he watched a pair of Otters dragging two Steelhead up out of the river and under a Gazibo in someones yard.
He said it wasnt very long between catches.

On the same flow another buddy was fishing and seen a large dark mass floating down towards him and just then the Seal popped its head up and they both got a bit of a scare.
He said it was something to see it wiggle its way out of the tail-out and down to the next swimmable section.
This was high enough up the river that nobody would dream of seeing a Seal up there.

Those are river otters and are a different beast. They can be hard on steelhead and other river fish... I've had friends have thier steelhead taken more than once in the Cowichan.