Sea Otter Awareness Week

Sea otters in the Gulf of Alaska, where populations have been restored. /photo by Kedar Gadge, Unsplash.com

Annually, throughout the last full week of September, we celebrate sea otters during Sea Otter Awareness Week (SOAW). SOAW is curated by Sea Otter Savvy, Defenders of Wildlife, Morro Bay State Parks, Elakha Alliance, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This year's theme is "restoring missing links."

Our partners, the Elakha Alliance, are hosting many activities online and throughout the state for SOAW this year:

• Monday, Sep. 25, 6:30 p.m.: Webinar: Elakha’s Next Steps & What Makes Sea Otters So Unique
• Tuesday, Sep. 26, 12-2 p.m.: Float Down the Coast Livestream & Educational Table at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (Newport)
• Wednesday, Sep. 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Sea Otter Viewing Station at Oregon Coast Aquarium (Newport)
• Friday, Sep. 29, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Sea Otter Viewing Station at Oregon Zoo (Portland)
• Saturday, Sept.30, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Sea Otter Viewing Station at Oregon Zoo (Portland)

More about this year's theme:

"This year's theme, 'Restoring Missing Links,' recognizes that sea otters remain absent from large portions of their historical range while celebrating the active efforts of conservation groups to restore a continuous population of these charismatic creatures and other missing elements along the Pacific coast.

As a keystone species, sea otters maintain balance within the intricate web of life that epitomizes coastal ecosystems. By preying on sea urchins, sea otters control urchin populations and prevent the destructive consequences of unchecked grazing. This regulation allows kelp forests to flourish, yields vital habitat for numerous other species and improves ecosystem biodiversity and resilience.

But sea otters can also reestablish links within a human context. Many Indigenous communities have longstanding cultural and spiritual relationships with the natural world and wish to revive sea otter populations within nearshore waters. For coastal residents and visitors, the mere existence of sea otters generates enjoyment and a unified desire to see these endearing animals thrive.

As we celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week, let's consider how we might help these animals return home, reconnecting what's missing in those natural systems and realizing the ecological and socioeconomic value these once-nearly-extinct animals generate in coastal areas."

Learn more about SOAW here.