Alaskans make new push to kill more sea otters, saying they're decimating Southeast shellfish

Southeast Alaska's clams, urchins and crabs have fueled lucrative fishing industries and fed hungry families for decades.

They also feed sea otters.

And now, that human dependence on shellfish is clashing anew with a successful, state-sponsored restoration program that brought the marine mammals' population back from near extinction a century ago.

The long-running conflict between otter conservation and Southeast fishermen and tribal groups has drawn new attention this year. State lawmakers and other policymakers have drafted letters asking the Trump administration and a Republican-controlled Congress to loosen federal otter protections, and to grant local managers more power to cull the animals and leave more urchins, clams, crab and sea cucumbers for humans.

Federal action is far from certain, but those who depend on shellfish warn of an increasingly dire problem.

Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2018/03/17/alaskans-make-new-push-to-kill-more-sea-otters-saying-theyre-decimating-southeast-shellfish/