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From the microscopic clues hidden in the seafloor to powerful wildlife comebacks and global conservation efforts, this program explores how science and stewardship are shaping the future of our oceans. Researchers unlock the ocean’s role in storing carbon through environmental DNA, while the return of sea otters sparks the revival of an entire ecosystem in Monterey Bay. Across coastlines from Mexico to Baja California, dedicated guardians work to protect vital habitats and species, and on the remote island of St Helena, long term partnerships demonstrate what lasting marine protection can achieve. Together, these films offer a hopeful and compelling look at the people and innovations working to restore and defend our blue planet.
Sea otters are back, and their return is a breath of fresh air for the waters of Monterey Bay. Marine ecologists Brent Hughes and Kat Beheshti reveal how re-planting seagrass, along with help from a healthy population of crab-eating otters, have transformed and stabilized an entire marine ecosystem.
In the heart of Monterey Bay California sits a nature-lover's paradise called Elkhorn Slough. This 7-mile estuary is one of the state's last great coastal wetlands and home to over 100 sea otters, but it wasn't always this way. In the 1800's and 1900’s, sea otters were on the brink of extinction from excessive hunting for their fur, and Elkhorn Slough was falling apart from coastal development. Crab populations exploded out of control and the Slough’s banks began to wash away.
Thanks to a lucky discovery and some help from a dedicated reintroduction effort, sea otter numbers rebounded. Their crab consumption is finally restabilizing the Slough, from the banks all the way down to the seagrass.
- Year2025
- Runtime15 minutes
- DirectorKelly Sweet
- ScreenwriterKelly Sweet
- ProducerKelly Sweet
- CastKelly Sweet
From the microscopic clues hidden in the seafloor to powerful wildlife comebacks and global conservation efforts, this program explores how science and stewardship are shaping the future of our oceans. Researchers unlock the ocean’s role in storing carbon through environmental DNA, while the return of sea otters sparks the revival of an entire ecosystem in Monterey Bay. Across coastlines from Mexico to Baja California, dedicated guardians work to protect vital habitats and species, and on the remote island of St Helena, long term partnerships demonstrate what lasting marine protection can achieve. Together, these films offer a hopeful and compelling look at the people and innovations working to restore and defend our blue planet.
Sea otters are back, and their return is a breath of fresh air for the waters of Monterey Bay. Marine ecologists Brent Hughes and Kat Beheshti reveal how re-planting seagrass, along with help from a healthy population of crab-eating otters, have transformed and stabilized an entire marine ecosystem.
In the heart of Monterey Bay California sits a nature-lover's paradise called Elkhorn Slough. This 7-mile estuary is one of the state's last great coastal wetlands and home to over 100 sea otters, but it wasn't always this way. In the 1800's and 1900’s, sea otters were on the brink of extinction from excessive hunting for their fur, and Elkhorn Slough was falling apart from coastal development. Crab populations exploded out of control and the Slough’s banks began to wash away.
Thanks to a lucky discovery and some help from a dedicated reintroduction effort, sea otter numbers rebounded. Their crab consumption is finally restabilizing the Slough, from the banks all the way down to the seagrass.
- Year2025
- Runtime15 minutes
- DirectorKelly Sweet
- ScreenwriterKelly Sweet
- ProducerKelly Sweet
- CastKelly Sweet