No Otter Zone

Gr 6 Up—Wonderful footage of sea otters cavorting in the ocean is interspersed with video clips of people on both sides of the issue of whether the otter-free zone established off Southern California should be enforced or removed. Fishers want to restrict otter populations in order to protect urchin and abalone, which otters pray upon, and, thus, their livelihoods. Environmentalists argue that protecting the sea otter along the entire coast of California is actually restoring what historically has been the otters' habitat before they were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. Both sides are well represented and provide many ideas and questions for discussion. The zone was, in fact, repealed in December 2012, and the impact remains to be seen. Brief but packed with information, this would be useful in marine biology and environmental science classes as well as courses discussing current issues and controversies.—Cynthia Ortiz, Hackensack High School, NJ