I believe that no red sea urchins, no abalone and no clams are on the Central Coast because of the import of the northern sea otter (an alien species). Sea urchins, abalone and clams keep the reef ...

He reached into cracks and peered into crevices with a flashlight, hoping to find an endangered marine snail whose shell recently has become California’s state seashell: the black abalone. Seven ...

Otters carry large stones between their forepaws on these dives, used to dislodge prey and to break open shells. Their diet includes clams, crabs, sea urchins, starfish, abalone, and 40 different ...

But to crabs, clams, abalone, urchins and some fishermen, sea otters are voracious marine weasels that can eat 25% of their body weight a day — a perceived threat to life and livelihood.