Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2013
Introduction
The Exxon Valdez oil spill generated enormous public and scientific attention on sea otters (Enhydra lutris). Photos of oil-covered sea otters hauled out on beaches or collected in boats frequently appeared in the media and in government reports, making it one of the most notable “poster species” of this spill (Batten, 1990). Rice et al. (2007, p. 450) commented, that “Perhaps our most persistent collective memory of the oil spill is the dead and dying sea otters.” A major report, Legacy of an Oil Spill 20 Years after Exxon Valdez, featured sea otters on the cover and used this species as the predominant case study (Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, 2009).
Attention to sea otters was fueled by their charismatic nature and appearance, combined with the fact that no mammal suffered greater spill-related mortality. Given the large number of otters that died (or were not born) as an immediate or long-term result of the spill, the significance of this species in terms of natural resource damage assessment and public relations was enormous. It was argued, for example, that each otter killed in the spill was “worth” at least $80 000, the minimal cost to Exxon for each otter that was captured, cleaned, and rehabilitated (Estes, 1991).
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.