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Sea otters are a keystone species, meaning their role in their environment has a greater effect than other species. Sea otters are critical to maintaining the balance of the kelp ecosystems. Without sea otters, sea urchins would devour the kelp forests off the coast that provide cover and food for many other marine animals. Sea otters eat sea urchins & other invertebrates that graze on giant kelp. No sea otters means no kelp forests.
Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,0002,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range. A subsequent international ban on hunting, conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding. The recovery of the sea otter is considered an important success in marine conservation, although populations in the Aleutian Islands and California have recently declined or have plateaued at depressed levels. For these reasons, the sea otter remains classified as an endangered species.

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