Our story

In 2021, I started The Mocha Fund to help protect endangered sea otters. When I was young, I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time and watched the otters playing and splashing in the water. From that moment on, my love for otters began. Otters are often called the “dogs of the sea” because of their intelligence, curiosity, and social nature, and they reminded me of my own amazing dog at home.

Sea otters thrive in kelp forests, which provide much of their food, especially sea urchins. In 2013, however, a mysterious sea star disease devastated sea star populations across the Pacific Ocean. Because sea stars prey on sea urchins, their decline allowed the urchin population to grow dramatically. The urchins then began consuming large amounts of kelp, causing kelp forests to shrink and, in some areas, disappear entirely.

As kelp forests decline, the ecosystem that supports sea otters becomes increasingly fragile. Without healthy kelp forests, otters lose access to much of the food they depend on to survive. This chain reaction is a powerful and concerning example of how delicate ecosystems can be. When one part becomes unbalanced, the effects ripple outward and threaten the stability of the entire system.

Our mission is to help raise funds for programs that help rehabilitate the kelp forests and otters themselves. We donate to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Rescue and Research program, and we have seen first hand how our funds have been used in action. We continue to fundraiser and be inspired by the dogs of the sea. Click below to donate!