CELPIP Reading Part 3 Practice Test: Sea Otters And BC Kelp Forests

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Few marine animals are as easy to love as the sea otter, which can often be seen floating on its back off the outer coast of British Columbia, cracking open a clam on its chest. Unlike whales and seals, sea otters have no layer of blubber to protect them from the cold Pacific. Instead, they rely on the thickest fur of any animal on Earth, with as many as 150,000 hairs on a single square centimetre of skin. Keeping that coat clean and full of trapped air is a full-time job, and otters spend hours each day grooming. To fuel their bodies, they must also eat roughly a quarter of their own weight every day, diving for sea urchins, crabs, clams and other shellfish. When resting, groups of otters often wrap themselves in strands of kelp so that they do not drift apart while they sleep.

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That remarkable fur very nearly caused the species’ disappearance. Beginning in the late 1700s, European, Russian and American traders paid high prices for otter pelts, and hunting spread rapidly along the Pacific coast. By the early twentieth century, sea otters had vanished from British Columbia altogether. An international treaty signed in 1911 finally banned the hunt, but by then there were no animals left in the province to protect. The turning point came between 1969 and 1972, when 89 otters were captured in Alaska and released in Checleset Bay, on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. The newcomers adapted well, and their descendants have since spread north and south along the coast. Today the province’s population is estimated at more than 8,000, although the species is still listed as one of special concern.

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The return of the sea otter has had effects far beyond its own numbers. Scientists describe it as a keystone species, meaning that its presence shapes the entire ecosystem around it. The key lies in its appetite for sea urchins. Where otters are absent, urchins can multiply unchecked and graze kelp down to bare rock, leaving behind what researchers call “urchin barrens.” Where otters have returned, urchins hide in cracks rather than feeding in the open, and kelp forests recover, sometimes within a few years. These underwater forests provide shelter for young rockfish and herring, absorb carbon, and soften the force of waves before they reach the shore.

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Not everyone has welcomed the otters back, however. Coastal First Nations have harvested clams, crabs and urchins for thousands of years, and in some communities those foods have become noticeably harder to find since the otters arrived. Commercial divers who collect sea urchins and geoducks report similar losses. Some First Nations have asked for a role in managing otter numbers, pointing out that their ancestors once kept populations in balance through careful hunting. Meanwhile, a study from a BC university suggested that the gains from healthier kelp forests, including larger fish stocks and more visitors on wildlife tours, outweigh the losses to shellfish fisheries. Whether those benefits reach the communities that bear the costs remains an open question.