Oceanography | June 2015
Oceanography
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OCEANOGRAPHY SOCIETY
VOL.28, NO.2, JUNE 2015
Emerging Themes in
Ocean Acidification Science
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
Oceanography | June 2015
108
92
SPECIAL ISSUE ON EMERGING THEMES IN
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION SCIENCE
10
Introduction to this Special Issue on Ocean Acidification:
The Pathway from Science to Policy
By J.T. Mathis, S.R. Cooley, K.K. Yates, and P. Williamson
16
Understanding Ocean Acidification Impacts on Organismal to Ecological Scales
By A.J. Andersson, D.I. Kline, P.J. Edmunds, S.D. Archer, N. Bednaršek,
R.C. Carpenter, M. Chadsey, P. Goldstein, A.G. Grottoli, T.P. Hurst, A.L. King,
J.E. Kübler, I.B. Kuffner, K.R.M. Mackey, B.A. Menge, A. Paytan, U. Riebesell,
A. Schnetzer, M.E. Warner, and R.C. Zimmerman
28
Coupling Chemical and Biological Monitoring to Understand the Impact of
Ocean Acidification on Coral Reef Ecosystems
By A. Sutton, D. Manzello, and B. Gintert
30
Understanding, Characterizing, and Communicating Responses to
Ocean Acidification: Challenges and Uncertainties
By D.S. Busch, M.J. O’Donnell, C. Hauri, K.J. Mach, M. Poach, S.C. Doney,
and S.R. Signorini
40
Technology for Ocean Acidification Research: Needs and Availability
By T.R. Martz, K.L. Daly, R.H. Byrne, J.H. Stillman, and D. Turk
48
And on Top of All That… Coping with Ocean Acidification in the Midst
of Many Stressors
By D.L. Breitburg, J. Salisbury, J.M. Bernhard, W.-J. Cai, S. Dupont, S.C. Doney,
K.J. Kroeker, L.A. Levin, W.C. Long, L.M. Milke, S.H. Miller, B. Phelan, U. Passow,
B.A. Seibel, A.E. Todgham, and A.M. Tarrant
62
Geochemical Proxies for Estimating Faunal Exposure to Ocean Acidification
By L.A. Levin, B. Hönisch, and C.A. Frieder
74
Response of Photosynthesis to Ocean Acidification
By K.R.M. Mackey, J.J. Morris, F.M.M. Morel, and S.A. Kranz
92
Characterizing the Natural System: Toward Sustained, Integrated Coastal
Ocean Acidification Observing Networks to Facilitate Resource Management
and Decision Support
By S.R. Alin, R.E. Brainard, N.N. Price, J.A. Newton, A. Cohen, W.T. Peterson,
E.H. DeCarlo, E.H. Shadwick, S. Noakes, and N. Bednaršek
108 How Can Present and Future Satellite Missions Support Scientific Studies
that Address Ocean Acidification?
By J. Salisbury, D. Vandemark, B. Jönsson, W. Balch, S. Chakraborty,
S. Lohrenz, B. Chapron, B. Hales, A. Mannino, J.T. Mathis, N. Reul, S.R. Signorini,
R. Wanninkhof, and K.K. Yates
contents
VO L . 2 8 , N O. 2 , J UN E 2 0 1 5
Oceanography
62
Oceanography | June 2015
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
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SPECIAL ISSUE GUEST EDITORS
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• Jeremy Mathis, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
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Council and University of East Anglia
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
146
182
198
122
Ocean Acidification in the Surface Waters of the Pacific-Arctic
Boundary Regions
By J.T. Mathis, J.N. Cross, W. Evans, and S.C. Doney
136
The Potential for CO2-Induced Acidification in Freshwater:
A Great Lakes Case Study
By J.C. Phillips, G.A. McKinley, V. Bennington, H.A. Bootsma, D.J. Pilcher,
R.W. Sterner, and N.R. Urban
146
Impacts of Coastal Acidification on the Pacific Northwest Shellfish Industry
and Adaptation Strategies Implemented in Response
By A. Barton, G.G. Waldbusser, R.A. Feely, S.B. Weisberg, J.A. Newton,
B. Hales, S. Cudd, B. Eudeline, C.J. Langdon, I. Jefferds, T. King,
A. Suhrbier, and K. McLaughlin
160
Core Principles of the California Current Acidification Network:
Linking Chemistry, Physics, and Ecological Effects
By K. McLaughlin, S.B. Weisberg, A.G. Dickson, G.E. Hofmann, J.A. Newton,
D. Aseltine-Neilson, A. Barton, S. Cudd, R.A. Feely, I.W. Jefferds, E.B. Jewett,
T. King, C.J. Langdon, S. McAfee, D. Pleschner-Steele, and B. Steele
170
Ocean Acidification Science Needs for Natural Resource Managers of the
North American West Coast
By A.B. Boehm, M.Z. Jacobson, M.J. O’Donnell, M. Sutula, W.W. Wakefield,
S.B. Weisberg, and E. Whiteman
182
Ocean and Coastal Acidification off New England and Nova Scotia
By D.K. Gledhill, M.M. White, J. Salisbury, H. Thomas, I. Mlsna, M. Liebman,
B. Mook, J. Grear, A.C. Candelmo, R.C. Chambers, C.J. Gobler, C.W. Hunt,
A.L. King, N.N. Price, S.R. Signorini, E. Stancioff, C. Stymiest, R.A. Wahle,
J.D. Waller, N.D. Rebuck, Z.A. Wang, T.L. Capson, J.R. Morrison,
S.R. Cooley, and S.C. Doney
198
Getting Ocean Acidification on Decision Makers’ To-Do Lists:
Dissecting the Process Through Case Studies
By S.R. Cooley, E.B. Jewett, J. Reichert, L. Robbins, G. Shrestha,
D. Wieczorek, and S.B. Weisberg
212
Transdisciplinary Science: A Path to Understanding the Interactions
Among Ocean Acidification, Ecosystems, and Society
By K.K. Yates, C. Turley, B.M. Hopkinson, A.E. Todgham, J.N. Cross,
H. Greening, P. Williamson, R. Van Hooidonk, D.D. Deheyn, and Z. Johnson
226 Data Management Strategy to Improve Global Use of Ocean Acidification
Data and Information
By H.E. Garcia, C. Cosca, A. Kozyr, E. Mayorga, C. Chandler, R.W. Thomas,
K. O’Brien, W. Appeltans, S. Hankin, J.A. Newton, A. Gutierrez,
J.-P. Gattuso, L. Hansson, M. Zweng, and B. Pfeil
Oceanography | June 2015
Editor
Ellen S. Kappel
Geosciences Professional Services Inc.
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Contributing Writer
Cheryl Lyn Dybas
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Oceanography
W W W.TO S .O R G /O C E A N O G R A P H Y
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Ocean Sciences Department
University of California, Santa Cruz
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THE
OCEANOGRAPHY
SOCIETY
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www.tos.org
The Oceanography Society was founded in 1988
to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and
its application through research and education, to
promote communication among oceanographers,
and to provide a constituency for consensus-
building across all the disciplines of the field.
OFFICERS
Susan Lozier, President
Alan Mix, President-Elect
Mark Abbott, Past-President
Susan Cook, Secretary
Susan Banahan, Treasurer
COUNCILORS
William Balch
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Oceanography | June 2015
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
252
240
230
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
REGULAR ISSUE FEATURE
230 Environmental Properties of Coastal Waters in Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii,
at the Future Site of a Seawater Air Conditioning Outfall
By C.M. Comfort, M.A. McManus, S.J. Clark, D.M. Karl, and C.E. Ostrander
DEPARTMENTS
05
QUARTERDECK. Pursuing Earth and Ocean Sciences Priorities
As One Community
By E.S. Kappel
07
FROM THE PRESIDENT. Oceanographers as Masons
By M.S. Lozier
08
RIPPLE MARKS. Coastal Gold Rush: Southeast Alaska’s Sea Otters
Swing from Boom to Bust to Boom
By C.L. Dybas
240 ROGER REVELLE COMMEMORATIVE LECTURE.
Overturning Assumptions: Past, Present, and Future Concerns about
the Ocean’s Circulation
By M.S. Lozier
252 KEYNOTE LECTURE. Solutions for Recovering and Sustaining the
Bounty of the Ocean: Combining Fishery Reforms, Rights-Based Fisheries
Management, and Marine Reserves
By A.K. Barner, J. Lubchenco, C. Costello, S.D. Gaines, A. Leland, B. Jenks,
S. Murawski, E. Schwaab, and M. Spring
264 BOOK REVIEWS. Photosynthesis in the Marine Environment •
Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World
266 CAREER PROFILES. Paul Bunje, Senior Director of Oceans, XPRIZE
Foundation • Kelly A. Kryc, Foreign Affairs Officer, Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, US State Department
ON THE COVER
Oyster shells and boat at Taylor Shellfish’s farm in Samish
Bay, Washington. Taylor Shellfish was one of the first com-
panies to document, and seek solutions for, ocean acidi-
fication-caused harm to shellfish grown in their hatchery.
Photo credit: Jon Rowley
Oceanography | June 2015
F
rom May 4–6, 2015, I had the priv-
ilege of attending the “Workshop
on Future Seismic and Geodetic Facility
Needs in the Geosciences” in Leesburg,
Virginia. Roughly 100 scientists from the
largely land-based US seismic and geo-
detic communities gathered to formulate
the key scientific research questions that
they will be pursuing beyond 2018, and
to develop recommendations regarding
the “foundational” and “frontier” facilities
required to conduct the science (for more
information,
see
http://www.iris.edu/
hq/workshops/2015/05/future_seismic_
and_geodetic_facility_needs_in_the_
geosciences). The workshop took place
in the context of the National Science
Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences’
need for community input as it plans to rec-
ompete management and operations of its
seismic and geodetic facilities in 2016 (see
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15076/
nsf15076.jsp). Those facilities include the
Incorporated Research Institutions for
Seismology (IRIS; http://www.iris.edu),
UNAVCO (https://www.unavco.org), and
EarthScope (http://www.earthscope.org),
which
is
managed
jointly
by
IRIS and UNAVCO.
From the outset of the May work-
shop, it was clear that many in the seis-
mic and geodetic communities believe
that pursuing their scientific priori-
ties requires an extension of land opera-
tions into the ocean. Recommendations
include deploying arrays of ocean bot-
tom seismometers for passive and active
seismic experiments, installing seafloor
geodetic instruments to measure hor-
izontal and vertical motion of the sea-
floor, and establishing several long-
term broadband seismic stations to
extend global seismic coverage into the
ocean. Workshop participants also dis-
cussed the need to add sensors—such
as those that continuously record bot-
tom
pressure
and
temperature—to
ocean floor seismic and geodetic instru-
ments. The concept of deploying per-
manent ocean bottom seismographs
to complete uniform global coverage
of the Global Seismographic Network
(http://www.iris.edu/ hq/ programs/gsn)
dates back to the 1990s (e.g., Stephen
et al., 2003). These stations have become
more feasible thanks to technologi-
cal advances that include autonomous
underwater vehicles that could download
and transmit the data from remote sites,
and improved battery lifetimes and very
precise atomic clocks that enable multi-
year deployments. Workshop participants
also mentioned the need for improved
marine magnetotelluric and controlled
source electromagnetic capabilities and
for high-resolution bathymetry to enable
more precise knowledge of site character-
istics for input into crustal models.
These foundational and frontier facil-
ities would support studies of subjects
ranging from subduction zone systems
beyond Cascadia (e.g., see Toomey et al.,
2014), deep mantle structure (slabs and
plumes), magmatic systems (mid-ocean
ridges, underplating), and also “water”
(e.g., cryosphere, sea level, and fault zone
properties). Not surprisingly, these topics
are similar to several decadal science pri-
orities, such as sea level change, the for-
mation and evolution of ocean basins, and
the character of the subseafloor environ-
ment, set forth in the just-released report
of the NRC Committee on Guidance
for NSF on National Ocean Research
Priorities: Decadal Survey of Ocean
Sciences (NRC, 2015, see Table 3-2 sum-
mary). The NRC report also lists geohaz-
ards (earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides,
tsunamis) as a priority. While discus-
sion of geohazards research at the recent
“Futures” workshop was vigorous and
was seen as important, the participants
remained focused on land-based studies.
The Futures writing committee is now
crafting the workshop report, which will
articulate the outcomes of the meet-
ing discussions and describe in more
detail the seismic and geodetic commu-
nities’ scientific priorities and infrastruc-
ture needs. The report will be made avail-
able for community input in mid-to-late
June for one month on the meeting web-
site. I strongly encourage members of the
ocean sciences community to review this
draft and provide comments to the writ-
ing committee. The TOS website will pro-
vide a link to the workshop draft.
In this age of multidisciplinary, inter-
disciplinary,
and
transdisciplinary
research, the overlap in science priorities
for Earth and ocean sciences articulated
by the two groups is not at all surprising.
The 2015 NRC report and the Futures
workshop report (final to be released in
One Community
Pursuing Earth and Ocean Sciences
Priorities As
QUARTERDECK
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
Ellen S. Kappel, Editor
Visit the new TOS Jobs Center
Providing services for both employers and jobseekers.
http://jobs.tos.org
early to mid-September 2015) provide an
opportunity for Earth and ocean sciences
communities to review future require-
ments holistically and work together to
ensure the availability of infrastructure
necessary to conduct priority science.
NSF program managers from both the
Earth and the Ocean Sciences Divisions
must be part of this discussion. It is imper-
ative that scientists and managers begin
this conversation immediately and work
quickly to remove any barriers to the nec-
essary joining of the two communities.
REFERENCES
National Research Council. 2015. Sea Change:
2015–2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences.
Committee on Guidance for NSF on National
Ocean Science Research Priorities: Decadal Survey
of Ocean Sciences, Ocean Studies Board, Division
on Earth and Life Studies, National Research
Council, National Academies Press, Washington,
DC, 120 pp., http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21655/
sea-change-2015-2025-decadal-survey-of-ocean-
sciences.
Stephen, R.A., F.N. Spiess, J.A. Collins,
J.A. Hildebrand, J.A. Orcutt, K.R. Peal, F.L. Vernon,
and F.B. Wooding. 2003. Ocean Seismic
Network Pilot Experiment. Geochemistry,
Geophysics, Geosystems 4(10), http://dx.doi.org/
10.1029/2002GC000485.
Toomey, D.R., R.M. Allen, A.H. Barclay, S.W. Bell,
P.D. Bromirski, R.L. Carlson, X. Chen, J.A. Collins,
R.P. Dziak, B. Evers, and others. 2014. The Cascadia
Initiative: A sea change in seismological studies of
subduction zones. Oceanography 27(2):138–150,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2014.49.
http://www.tos.org/awards_honors/fellows_program.html
The Oceanography Society (TOS) Fellows Program has been estab-
lished to recognize individuals who have attained eminence in
oceanography though their outstanding contributions to the field
of oceanography or its applications during a substantial period
of years. TOS members are encouraged to participate in honor-
ing such individuals by nominating or seconding their election as
a TOS Fellow. TOS members from all areas of oceanography will
be considered for the Fellows Program. A recommendation for ad-
vancement to TOS Fellow is appropriate after an individual has been
a TOS member for at least three years, depending on his or her
contributions to the field.
The main criteria for being elected a TOS Fellow are out-
standing and sustained contributions, and devotion to the
broad field of oceanography, commensurate with the founding
principles of the Society.
A complete nomination package includes:
• A three-page (maximum) nominating letter
• Three to five supporting letters, each two pages or less in length
• A document outlining the candidate’s professional history
To be considered this year, a complete nomination package must
be submitted electronically to info@tos.org (subject: Chair, Fellows
Committee) by October 31, 2015. Important details and instructions
regarding the nomination process are provided at http://www.tos.org/
awards_honors/fellows_program.html. This information is also avail-
able upon request from the TOS Executive Director (info@tos.org).
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Oceanography Society
Fellows Program
The Oceanography Society | P.O. Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA
Telephone: 301/251-7708 | Fax: 301/251-7709 | E-mail: info@tos.org
Recognizing Individuals Who Have Attained Eminence in
Oceanography Through Their Outstanding Contributions to
the Field of Oceanography or Its Applications
Oceanography | June 2015
E
arlier this spring, Eileen Hofmann (Old Dominion
University) and I were asked by the Consortium for
Ocean Leadership to participate in the drafting of a consen-
sus statement regarding the critical role of ocean sciences in
responding to climate change. The European Marine Board
and Ocean Leadership are partners in the development of this
statement, which will be delivered at the fifth European Marine
Board Forum next October at the European Parliament. The
statement is intended to “highlight the key role of the ocean in
climate regulation and climate change, as well as the impacts of
climate change in the marine environment and associated socio-
economic consequences; emphasize the key role of marine sci-
ence in guiding the societal response to climate change; and iden-
tify and communicate the key research priorities in the scope of
ocean and climate which should be supported.” A tall task, par-
ticularly for those of us trained as research oceanographers.
In contemplating the daunting expectations of this consen-
sus statement, I was reminded of a February 2015 Chronicle of
Higher Education article by Andrew J. Hoffman, Professor and
Director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise
at the University of Michigan, that my colleague Amy Bower
(Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution) forwarded to me
earlier this year. In his article, “Isolated Scholars: Making Bricks,
Not Shaping Policy,” Hoffman makes the case that the academic
community is filled with “brick makers”—researchers who aim
to and are rewarded for producing bricks of knowledge, but who
are either uninterested in or ill equipped for the masonry that
would turn those bricks into a coherent structure. Essentially, he
argues that universities and research institutions are filled with
too many bricklayers and too few masons.
I am sympathetic to the view that researchers, whether at
universities or research institutions, are by and large rewarded
almost exclusively for academic scholarship, and that the mea-
sure of that scholarship can at times bear a fair resemblance to
the process of making bricks. Increasingly, however, there is a call
for public scholarship, whereby university research is focused on
the critical issues that face society in the twenty-first century. It
is hard to imagine a more critical issue facing society today than
climate change, and hard to imagine a more important field in
the study of climate change than oceanography. But are ocean-
ographers active participants in the discussions, debates, and
arguments about climate change?
Advocates for public scholarship argue that conduct-
ing research relevant to the public’s interest meets only half of
our obligation as scientists. Engaging with the public on this
scholarship brings the full measure. Indeed, Hoffman makes
the case that “academics have a duty to make themselves heard
in the public and political spheres, inserting their voices into
debates where expert knowledge can move the conversation
forward.” Thankfully, we are saved from cacophony by the reluc-
tance of some scientists to heed that call to duty, or, perhaps
more accurately stated, by their doubt that such public engage-
ment is their duty.
Yet, surely we all agree that we need oceanographers engaged
in public discussions of topics such as climate change, the health
of coastal ecosystems, sea level rise, and marine geohazards.
Equally, we can agree that not all oceanographers are required
to take part in this engagement: ocean research should remain
a valued pursuit in its own right. We recognize this duality in
our professional ranks, but it is largely ignored in our gradu-
ate programs. Twenty years ago, the concept of interdisciplinary
scholarship was suspect, yet today it is heralded as the hallmark
of ocean science research. Graduate programs in oceanography
have largely embraced, or at least no longer repel, this advance.
However, would the idea that graduate programs in oceanog-
raphy add supplementary training in public scholarship be
embraced or met with suspicion by today’s oceanography faculty?
In this column over the past two years, Mark Abbott has writ-
ten often and eloquently about the need to rethink graduate edu-
cation in oceanography. In his last article as TOS President, he
made the case that we could expand and diversify the value of our
research to a larger community by working together on gradu-
ate education. Specifically, he proposed that “our oceanographic
institutions could forge new partnerships that would share spe-
cialized courses and facilities, thus increasing the choices avail-
able to our students and preparing them for career paths outside
academia and government.” I second Mark’s appeal for work-
ing across institutions to expand the value of our research to the
public, but I would like to further suggest that we can best pre-
pare our students for careers outside and inside academia and
government by providing an education in academic and pub-
lic scholarship. To give the public the whole picture of what
oceanography has to offer, we need brick makers, and we need
masons. Shouldn’t we be training them both?
M. Susan Lozier, TOS President
Oceanographers
as Masons
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
Oceanography | Vol.28, No.2
BY C H E RY L LY N DY BA S
The Story Behind the Story
A young warrior named Natsilane was
destined to become chief of his tribe, folk-
tales of the Tlingit and Haida peoples of
Southeast Alaska say. Natsilane’s broth-
ers were jealous of his stature, however,
and plotted to depose him.
The brothers took Natsilane out to sea,
ostensibly to fish, then threw him over-
board and rowed away.
But the chief-to-be wasn’t alone in the
deep blue sea.
He was rescued by a sea otter who car-
ried him to an island. The otter took care
of the boy, showing him the best hunting
and fishing grounds.
Eventually, though, the sea otter had to
return to its life in the water. It offered a
last gift to Natsilane, a pouch of seeds,
telling him to sow them across the island.
Natsilane complied, and the seeds grew
into tall trees. He then used wood from
the trees to build a boat, returned to his
village, and became chief.
To this day, according to legend, the lives
of humans and sea otters are intertwined.
OUT OF BALANCE:
OTTERS AND PEOPLE
Intertwined, but not in balance, says
Dennis Nickerson, environmental plan-
ner for the Organized Village of Kasaan,
a federally recognized Alaska tribal gov-
ernment established in 1938. The
village perches on the
east side of Prince of
Wales Island, some
50 km northwest
of Ketchikan.
Like the gold rush, Nickerson says,
we’ve gone from boom to bust to boom in
our relationship with sea otters. Is the next
bust—in the commercially valuable shell-
fish otters eat—on the horizon?
THE BOOM: SEA OTTERS BEFORE US
Sea otters are marine mammals native to
the North Pacific Ocean. The otters were
once abundant from Hokkaido, Japan,
through the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka
Peninsula, Commander Islands, Aleutian
Islands, peninsular and coastal Alaska,
and south to Baja California.
Sea otters live just off the coast, where
they dive to the bottom to forage for
invertebrates like sea urchins. The otters
control populations of urchins that would
otherwise mow down kelp forests and
take out entire ecosystems.
But sea otters’ diets include species like
clams and crabs that are also top choices
on human menus, leading to conflicts
between otters and fishers.
To track the number of sea otters and
their effects on fisheries, biologists
Ginny Eckert of
the University of
Alaska
Fairbanks (UAF), Verena Gill of the
US Department of the Interior, and other
scientists are working together on the
Alaska Sea Grant-supported Southeast
Alaska Sea Otter Project.
Public perceptions of sea otters have
changed dramatically over time, write
Gill and co-authors in a chapter in the
2015 book Sea Otter Conservation. “Like
other top predators such as wolves,
sea otters inspire extremes of emotion,
and sentiment toward them tends to
coalesce into camps.”
THE BUST:
FORTUNE-SEEKERS FROM SIBERIA
In the early 1700s, the global sea otter
population was estimated at 150,000 to
300,000 otters, according to Eckert. “Until
the mid-1700s,” she says, “sea otters were
common throughout their range.”
Then came the Russian explorers who
would turn fur traders.
Unlike most marine mammals, sea otters
stay warm not with blubber but with thick
coats of fur—blessings and, at times,
curses. To Russian explorers, otter fur was
a siren call.
“Fortune-seekers from Siberia reaped
a harvest of riches more fabulous than
the Spanish conquistadors,” wrote Harold
McCracken in his 1957 book Hunters of the
Stormy Sea, an account of early sea otter
hunting expeditions. “The sea otter’s was
the most valuable fur on earth. As a result,
these golden fleeces of the stormy north-
ern seas were virtually exterminated.”
Extensive
harvest
over
the
next
150 years resulted in near-extirpation
of the species. By the time sea otters
were given protection under the North
Pacific Fur Seal Treaty of 1911, fewer than
2,000 otters remained in 13 colonies.
Ripple Marks
COASTAL GOLD RUSH:
SOUTHEAST ALASKA’S SEA OTTERS SWING FROM BOOM TO BUST TO BOOM