Ron Peters's Reviews > Return of the Sea Otter: The Story of the Animal That Evaded Extinction on the Pacific Coast

This is the story of the near extinction of sea otters on the west coast of North America, followed by their slow, uncertain recovery. It is also about the relationship of sea otters to humans: politicians, government regulators, environmentalists, commercial fishers, and Native people.

The sea otter population went from 300,000 in the 1780s to less than 1,000 in the early 20th century. They are now 125,000 worldwide. During the height of the fur trade, pelts were bought from Native peoples for a comparative pittance then sold in China at a profit of 1,800 percent.

The sea otter fur trade introduced firearms and rum to Native people on the British Columbia coast. The cash injection from the fur trade introduced a crazy level of inflation and hyper-competitiveness into the traditional practice of the potlatch.

Once sea otters were driven to near extinction both Native people and settlers grew accustomed to dining on and making money from the sale of the kinds of seafood the otters used to eat. Now that sea otters are making a comeback, Native people complain about interference with their subsistence and the commercial fisheries complain about a loss of income.

But Native people used to coexist with sea otters in centuries past. Archaeological research on middens shows that Native communities used to subsist on a different mix of seafood and efforts are being made to convince these communities to return to something more like their traditional diet. Other research has shown that the economic value of sea otters through eco-tourism far outstrips losses to fisheries.

There is such a mix of human perspectives and interests involved, and such a complex mix of ecological factors to balance, that the establishment of a flourishing sea otter population will remain a struggle.