“Sea otters provide powerful benefits to their environment,” says Dr. Shawn Larson, senior conservation research manager at the Seattle Aquarium. “When otters are present, kelp forests and eelgrass meadows thrive. There is more food for other animals in the system, and the system itself is more resilient to climate change. That is what we would hope and expect to see if they are reintroduced in Oregon.”

The Aquarium, a global leader in sea otter conservation research for over 30 years, is conducting the research in partnership with Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Elakha Alliance and with funding from WCN’s Sea Otter Fund. Research will span through the end of 2028.

“This collaboration provides us an incredible opportunity to learn from two coastal environments in the Pacific Northwest—one where sea otters have been absent for generations and another where they have returned and are once again part of the marine ecosystem,” says Jane Bacchieri, Elakha Alliance Executive Director. “By comparing the conditions of these coastal habitats, we can better understand the ecological changes associated with the presence and absence of sea otters and build a stronger scientific foundation for restoration in Oregon. This work is an important step toward understanding what a future with sea otters back on the Oregon coast could look like.”

“Understanding the potential impacts of sea otters on Oregon’s nearshore ecosystem starts with having strong baseline data before any action is taken,” says Jim Burke, Director of Animal Care at Oregon Coast Aquarium. “The Oregon Coast Aquarium’s scientific dive team brings years of experience working in Oregon waters, and combining that local knowledge with ROV technology and interpretive software gives us a much more complete picture of what is happening below the surface. This is a collaborative effort that brings together different institutions, technologies, and areas of expertise so that future decisions are based on the best information available. We see this as much more than a three-year project. Our hope is to continue this work into the next decade and beyond, so that if sea otters are reintroduced to Oregon, we can document and better understand changes before, during, and long after their return.”

“Right now, we need an underwater baseline to track the impacts of sea otters as they come home,” says Dr. Jen Miller, Director of the Sea Otter Fund. “After reintroduction, we expect to see sea otters rebuild the ecological resilience of our coasts. But we won’t see the change unless we start the science now.”

How the project will unfold

What would happen if sea otters returned to the Oregon coast? To answer this question, the researchers will spend the next three years gathering data on both non-inhabited coastal Oregon environments and coastal Washington environments where sea otters are present today. They’ll compare the two locations to understand how the presence of otters affects the populations of other marine species and the overall condition of the seafloor.

Working in both states, teams will use scuba divers and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). They will measure the abundance of sea otter prey, including urchins, crabs and abalone, and will capture thousands of images of rocky reef and soft-sediment habitats in both locations.

Through the partnership, a team from the Seattle Aquarium, which has operated a successful ROV program since 2022, will train and advise a team at Oregon Coast Aquarium, as it develops its first-ever ROV program to support the work. That training is already underway.