Ron Eby & Robert Scoles have spent 1000’s of hours observing, documenting and photographing the sea otter. Ron, a retired naval commander, is a co-author of the study showing that the rebounding otter population resulted in the come-back of the eel-grass that offers a protected nursery for herring, crabs, and many other species and that  eating  tons of crabs by the otter  has brought back the eelgrass. Ron & Robert will tell you about this complex chain of feeding that defends the wildlife against the over-fertilization of the waters by agriculture. They also proved that the Slough otters often come on shore at night to sleep.

This pair began their productive collaboration when at a meeting of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary volunteers, former law enforcement officer, Robert, asked if anyone would go kayaking with him at 2 am to check out some unusual sea otter behavior. Ron raised his hand and thus began their research kayaking thru the cold for years. providing new insights to the life of sea otters