Webinar on Crabby Ideas

This webinar may prevent the crab issue from being blown up out of proportion.\Photo courtesy of Elakha Alliance.

The Elakha Alliance, which works toward restoration of sea otters to Oregon’s coastal waters, offers a webinar on Dungeness crab and how they may interact with sea otters.  This “Crabinar” as they call it takes place on Thursday, July 8, at 7 p.m.  It is free and open to all.

The Elakha Alliance is interested in avoiding or minimizing potential conflicts with Dungeness crab harvest when sea otters are returned to their former homes on the Oregon coast. A set of speakers will explore what we know about the effect of sea otters on commercial Dungeness crab harvest elsewhere, the potential for conflicts in Oregon, and possible actions that can help to reduce or avoid conflicts. The discussion will feature a state-of-the art population model used to predict the location and numbers of sea otters in Oregon in the years following restoration.

Speakers include Alan Shanks, of the Oregon Institute for Marine Biology, on the life history and population dynamics of Dungeness crab; Tracy Grimes of San Diego State University on the effect of sea otters in California on Dungeness crab catches and effect on young crab in estuaries; Ginny Eckert, director of the Alaska Sea Grant Program, on the effects of an expanding population of sea otters in S.E. Alaska on Dungeness crab and other shellfisheries; Tim Tinker of the University of California at Santa Cruz on a feasibility study of restoring sea otters to Oregon he is leading and how that takes crab into account; and Shannon Davis of The Resources Group Economist, on potential impacts of sea otters on Oregon Dungeness crab harvest as forecast by four “what-if” scenarios for future sea otter populations.

To register for this “Crabinar,” go here.