When Professor Justin Catanoso decided on an extended trip to Alaska in summer 2025, he made sure he would have a story to report along the way for Mongabay, the international environmental news organization for which he has been freelancing since 2015. After connecting with a marine ecologist with the National Park Service in Anchorage, he settled on sea otters — or rather the implications of a newly surging sea otter population throughout the sweeping Gulf of Alaska on both near-shore ecosystems and the economy of shell-fishing and crabbing.

When he started reporting, he figured the story had essentially two sides — the otters’ positive impact on balancing intertidal zones by helping kelp forests thrive and their controversial impact on the very seafood humans consider delicacies. But as he interviewed more expert sources throughout southcentral Alaska, a more nuanced science, economic and cultural story emerged — one with a significant Native Alaskan angle as well. To read the full story, click here.