Holding polluters accountable
What’s at stake
The Otter Project holds polluters accountable for achieving water quality standards in California’s watersheds and coastal oceans. The Central Coast has the highest percentage of “highly toxic” surface waters in the State of California; 55% of Central Coast water kills the test organisms put into water samples. These toxins and chemicals can build up and impact sea otter’s immune system. Additionally, unmitigated nutrient runoff causes ocean “dead zones” and harmful algal blooms. Exposure to domoic acid, a toxin produced by algal blooms, has been shown to cause fatal sea otter heart disease. Otters are also susceptible to microcystis poisoning—a highly toxic freshwater algae that flows into the ocean and becomes concentrated in the shellfish otters eat.