Farm Pond Otters The river otter is an opportunistic carnivore that is among the top aquatic predators in North America. Because of their ferocity and hunting prowess they can negatively impact fish populations quickly. Properly managed natural habitat such as rivers, streams and wetlands can absorb otter predation better than stocked/managed ponds. The reason is otters can consume 2 – 3 pounds of fish daily and may kill four times more than they eat playing with them and often target larger bas