About Sea Otters and Kelp

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Ranked #3,232 in Animals, #72,092 overall

Underwater forests

Kelp grows in any sea where it is covered in cool, sunlit water and fed with nutrients brought in by the waves. It grows so large and so densely, that it can form underwater forests. These kelp forests make suitable habitats for a host of sea animals, including the sea slug and the sea otter..

Believe it or not, there is a kind of seaweed in the seas off California that grows to 50 metres in length! It is the giant kelp. Other kinds of kelp do not grow quite so big but can still reach three or four metres in length.

Sea otters keep kelp forests healthy by eating animals that graze on kelp.

A Raft of Sea Otters

by: Vicki Leon

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/26/2009)

This lively book tells young readers everything they want to know about the life and behavior of the southern sea otter, its northern cousin, and lesser-known river otters. Forty color photographs by 13 exceptional wildlife photographers show the otter at work and play, while range maps show both current and historic locations of the otters.

Gourmet otter

When it dives in the shallows of the sea looking for food, the sea otter likes to find just the right meal. This usually includes abalones and other shellfish that humans often enjoy as delicacies. These shellfish are found in great numbers among the kelp forests. Unfortunately, the sea otter's tastes have not made it popular with fishermen who are part of an industry worth millions of dollars a year.

Sea Otter Inlet

by: Celia Godkin

Amazon Price: $15.95 (as of 12/26/2009)

Otter-free zones

In order to make their money, the Californian fishermen wanted otter-free zones, so they alone could catch the shellfish in the kelp forests.
They also wanted to stop the people known as conservationists from moving otters into new areas to save them from oil spills.

Bad idea
This was not just a bad idea for the otters, but for the fishermen, too. Kelp needs sea otters. If otters were allowed to spread, fishermen would gain because kelp forests provide a home for valuable fish and shellfish.

Franko's La Jolla Shores Map & Kelp Forest Creatures Identification Guide

by: Frank Nielsen

Amazon Price: $6.00 (as of 12/26/2009)

Near extinction

In the early 1990s, there were only about 1,500 California sea otters. Nearly all of them had been wiped out in the 1800s. They were the victims of fur hunters. Kelp forests began to disappear as well. Since the 1930s, sea otters have been protected and their numbers have begun to grow
The loss of the kelp forests was probably caused by sea urchins. Sea otters like to eat sea urchins, while sea urchins like to eat kelp. If there are no otters, the sea urchins grow in numbers and eat all the kelp. This in turn destroys the habitat of th shellfish, so the fishermen suffer, too.

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Protected Sea Otters

Since the 1930s, the California sea otter has been protected. Its numbers have grown and so the kelp forests have also recovered.

Sea Otter with Offspring Photographic Print

Stone, Lynn M.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Sea Otter Resting in Monterey Bay

Sea Otter resting in a kelp forest in monterey bay

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Valuable Kelp Forest

View of giant kelp forest with surface sunlight Framed Art Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

Precipice Of Survival - The Southern Sea Otter

Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)

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About Sea Otters and Kelp

Underwater forests

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