Boat-based counts of sea otters at specific sites in Southeast Alaska

This dataset is composed of counts of individual sea otters that were observed within a 2-nautical mile radius of specific intertidal sites. All counts were performed via boat-based operations; gender and the presence of pups were not recorded. Each observation is associated with a waypoint and the number of sea otters at that waypoint. These counts were conducted at 21 sites in Southeast Alaska on Prince of Wales Island in 2017 and 2018. These data were collected to compliment a larger, interdisciplinary project called APECS (Apex predators, Ecosystems, and Community Sustainability), the focus of which investigated the role that sea otters have on seagrass habitats, their ecological function, and influences on traditional and subsistence harvest of specified marine organisms.