Sea Otters Could Return to Oregon. This time, the science comes first
More than a century ago, intensive trapping as part of a thriving fur trade erased Oregon’s sea otter population. Decades later, an attempt to bring them back failed, but now a new partnership is laying the groundwork for a second try.
In 1906, two hunters at Otter Rock, located on the central Oregon coast, killed what may have been the last wild sea otter in the state. They discarded the body and sold the mammal’s pelt for $900. For almost 120 years since then, Oregon’s nearshore waters have been without these curious aquatic native species which once were amazingly abundant.
Now, a new research partnership that includes the Seattle Aquarium, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Elakha Alliance, and Wildlife Conservation Network’s Sea Otter Fund plans to combine modern science and hands-on zoology to bring sea otters back to the Oregon coast.
A Coast Emptied by the fur trade
Coastal Indigenous communities sustainably hunted sea otters for thousands of years. Unfortunately, that changed in the mid-1700s, when the demand for their luxurious pelts launched the commercial fur trade across the Pacific. Russian hunters started in the Aleutian Islands. British traders followed, then American ships dominated the trade from the 1790s until overhunting decimated the supply.
The sea otter trade in Oregon started early. In 1788, the crew of Robert Gray’s Lady Washington was the first to join the trade at Cascade Head, along the central Oregon coast. After Lewis & Clark famously made their way overland across the continental divide and followed the Columbia River all the way to the Pacific Ocean in 1805, word spread fast. John Jacob Astor followed up with expeditions of his own to establish an American outpost and trading center in this region. After some ill-fated adventures meant to establish a better overland route, members of one of his expeditions arrived in 1811 and established Astoria, the oldest permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally a fort and trading center for Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, Astoria, located on the Oregon side of the Columbia near its mouth, was founded to facilitate fur trading and brought in trappers from throughout the region. By 1911, fewer than 2,000 sea otters remained worldwide, and the Oregon coast which had once been teaming with thriving populations of these otters had none. Small remaining populations of sea otters survived in scattered colonies in parts of Russia, Alaska, and California before an international treaty was created to protect the species from complete extinction.
The first attempt
Sea otter populations were so decimated that it took 50 years for them to rebound in any notable numbers. In the 1960’s, protected Alaska colonies had recovered enough sea otters to begin moving them back into some of their former areas. In 1970 and 71, 93 sea otters from Amchitka Island in the Aleutians were flown to the southern Oregon coast and released near Cape Blanco, Orford Reef, and Simpson Reef. At first, the results appeared promising. The otters settled onto nearby reefs and gave birth to pups. But for some reason their numbers began to decline, and by 1981 only one sea otter remained.
Because there was little monitoring, no tagging, and no follow-up releases, researchers could only speculate about what happened to the sea otters. Some believed many left right after their release and headed back to Alaska. Some most likely swam north and helped Washington’s reintroduced population. Without tagging and monitoring, they didn’t know how many of the sea otters were male or female, an important distinction when trying to re-establish a sustainable colony. There was no documentation of the Oregon seafloor nor study of the habitat before and after the sea otters arrived, which made it difficult to determine what went wrong. No one knew if and how the mammals changed the environment or the ways they interacted with it when they were there. Factors that may have led to their abandonment of the area or demise.
Going back underwater
The new partnership is designed to close that gap by using modern science to determine where the best sea otter habitat lies. Over the next three years, the teams will use scuba divers and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to survey rocky reef and soft-sediment habitats in both Oregon and Washington. They will measure the abundance of sea otter prey such as urchins, crabs, and abalone. In addition, they will capture seafloor images to better understand and establish areas that are most likely to sustain new populations of these endangered creatures.
The Seattle Aquarium, which has run its ROV program since 2022, will train the Oregon Coast Aquarium when it launches its first program.
“Because the marine environments in Washington and Oregon are similar, comparing the two locations gives us valuable information on the potential benefits of restoring sea otters to Oregon,” said Zachary Randell, senior research scientist at the Seattle Aquarium. “What’s exciting is that this kind of project has never been done before with ROVs.”
“Right now, we need an underwater baseline to track the impacts of sea otters as they come home,” said Jen Miller, director of the Sea Otter Fund. “But we won’t see the change unless we start the science now.”
The data, which will be captured and shared with government, tribal, and conservation partners on the Pacific Coast, will help separate otter-driven changes from other environmental factors. The group hopes to continue documenting and monitoring the coast before, during, and after any reintroduction.
Why sea otters matter?
Sea otters are a keystone species because they eat a large number of sea urchins. Without otters, urchins can multiply and graze kelp down to bare rock, creating urchin barrens. With the reintroduction of otters, kelp forests should rebound and support the nearshore food web that sustains multiple species of both fish and invertebrates. Not only will this restore a more natural balance along the coast for different sea creatures, but these reinvigorated kelp forests are places that human anglers, divers, and boaters all interact with.
“When otters are present, kelp forests and eelgrass meadows thrive,” said Shawn Larson, senior conservation research manager at the Seattle Aquarium. “There is more food for other animals in the system, and the system itself is more resilient to climate change.”
Recovery comes with a tradeoff. Otters also eat crabs, clams, and abalone, which can reduce shellfish harvests. That is why the study plans to measure the prey species now to understand them better and hopefully establish a balance that can be both sustainable and productive.
What comes next?
A reintroduction is still years away. The Elakha Alliance says the timing depends on politics, agency and tribal capacity, funding, and community acceptance. The group plans to wrap up their documentation and studies by 2028 and begin translocations as early as 2030. They believe sea otter introductions will happen between 5 and 10 years from now.
Momentum is building, as the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians received a federal grant to develop a regional sea otter reintroduction plan. Recently, Oregon lawmakers passed a 1.25% wildlife bill, which provides dedicated funding for non-game wildlife conservation, including sea otters.
The first attempt showed that bringing sea otters back to Oregon takes more than a plane ride and dumping some animals along the coast. This time, the work is starting beneath the surface, with careful monitoring and planning to support and focus reintroduction on the best possible locations. The success of this program will bring populations of these fascinating aquatic mammals back to an area where they historically thrived, restoring balance to Oregon’s coastal waters. It can also demonstrate that with care, understanding, and hard work, we can undo some of the damage caused by past overfishing and overhunting.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Kay Stuart via Elakha Alliance.
Sources:
Seattle Aquarium, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Elakha Alliance and Wildlife Conservation Network’s Sea Otter Fund. “New Partnership Paves the Way for Reintroducing Sea Otters to Oregon.” Press release, Sept. 17, 2026.
Elakha Alliance. https://www.elakhaalliance.org
High Country News. “Returning sea otters to Oregon could revive kelp forests.” https://www.hcn.org/articles/north-wildlife-returning-sea-otters-to-oregon-could-revive-kelp-forests/
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Historical and Current Sea Otter Distribution.” https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Sea%20Otter%20History%20and%20Distribution%2007282021.pdf
Atmos. “Sea Otter Reintroduction Could Mend Ecological and Colonial Scars.” July 29, 2025. https://atmos.earth/science-and-nature/sea-otter-reintroduction-could-mend-ecological-and-colonial-scars/
