Got crabs? Otters maybe the solution.

December 20, 2024 9:43 AM

Southern sea otters are an unexpected solution to invasive European Green Crabs that have been ravishing eco systems on the west coast of North America.
posted by Mitheral (18 comments total)

I love following Elakha Alliance on this, as they're a 501(c)3 working to re-introduce sea otters to the Oregon coast. If they succeed in setting up a permanent population (like with the re-introduction from Alaska to California), there would be a contiguous population along the West Coast.

Plus, otters!
posted by CrystalDave at 9:53 AM on December 20 [6 favorites]

I am willing to do my part! Pass the melted butter!
posted by The otter lady at 10:57 AM on December 20 [3 favorites]

Much more fun than permethrin.
posted by senor biggles at 11:08 AM on December 20

Otters are our friends. Let's be friendly to otters.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:20 AM on December 20 [3 favorites]

Surely better than being ravaged
posted by thixotemperate at 11:29 AM on December 20 [3 favorites]

It would be awesome if all environmental problems could be solved this cutely.
posted by limeonaire at 11:34 AM on December 20 [2 favorites]

CRONCH
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 11:48 AM on December 20

As far as I'm concerned, Otters should always be the first attempted solution...

For most any problem.
(They are just so fucking cute)
posted by Windopaene at 12:28 PM on December 20 [3 favorites]

The article compares Elkhorn Slough with other similar sites and discusses how the resident otter population keeps the crabs at bay. If you ever get the chance, the kayaking tours are great. Responsible paddlers shouldn't go right up to otters in the wild, but we got some great looks at sea otters, sea lions, and harbor seals when we went. Highly recommend as a little add on trip to seeing the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
posted by advicepig at 1:27 PM on December 20 [1 favorite]

Surely better than being ravaged

I’m not going to search for “ravaged by otters” but I am 100% certain that this novel-length work exists.
posted by mhoye at 1:27 PM on December 20 [2 favorites]

Otters and beavers are saving ecosystems - so great - otterly wonderful in fact.
posted by leslies at 2:01 PM on December 20 [3 favorites]

Also, exposure to certain otters may be the reason you have crabs.
posted by Kibbutz at 2:25 PM on December 20 [1 favorite]

Damn it. We're doing this again, aren't we?

(scrunches eyes closed while pinching bridge of nose)

Mark my words. The future top of the food chain creature that comes from introducing cute southern sea otters into a new environment will either be giant blue ringed sea bunny nudibranchs or sentient bamboo plants that build tiny fission bombs out of potassium-40 pulled from sea water.
posted by ensign_ricky at 3:26 PM on December 20 [3 favorites]

Damn it. We're doing this again, aren't we?
Relax, no nose-pinching is called for. No-one is introducing southern sea otters anywhere they aren't supposed to be. All that is happening is that said sea otters are returning to territory where they are a native species, and they are eating an invasive species along the way. This is a good thing.
posted by senor biggles at 4:33 PM on December 20 [7 favorites]

Relax, no nose-pinching is called for. No-one is introducing southern sea otters anywhere they aren't supposed to be. All that is happening is that said sea otters are returning to territory where they are a native species, and they are eating an invasive species along the way. This is a good thing.

If it helps, I meant my comment to be whimsical with visions of poisonous slugs and nuclear bamboo. I should have made it clear that I clearly heard circus music in my head while posting, and that the reader should choose a similar whimsical piece to run through their head before reading.
posted by ensign_ricky at 6:18 PM on December 20 [2 favorites]

I used to work for a long-running project at San Nicolas Island (the outermost of the Channel Islands in California), where USGS and some others trans-located a group of sea otters back in the 80's. Despite some population fluctuations over time, there was a fairly stable group of otters at the island, although they tended mostly to hang out on one side. I was involved in a semiannual monitoring effort, in which the underwater habitat was assessed at various locations to track downstream effects of otter reintroduction on the kelp forest ecosystem.

On my first trip there I was really struck by the difference. One side of the island had urchin barrens and not a whole lot more. The other side had lush, biodiverse kelp forests with lots of fish and many invertebrates.

Guess which side had otters and which didn't.
posted by deadbilly at 6:45 PM on December 20 [2 favorites]

Oh hey, I have a tangential connection to these. A group I work with is trying to turn these crabs shells into useful chitin for a native group on Vancouver island that harvests them, so they can get another useful product out of the harvest. I'm encouraging them to also (or instead) extract the calcium carbonate for concrete production.
posted by Canageek at 7:21 PM on December 20 [4 favorites]

i am introducing myself into these comments to ravage all invasive species.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:26 PM on December 20 [5 favorites]