Local Wally Invites You & SD Musicos to Save La Jolla's Seals

What is there to save the seals from? They have already been saved.... the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 makes it illegal to harm or harass any marine mammals. Sounds like a PR gimmick to me instead of a real problem that needs addressing.
— July 16, 2011 11:24 p.m.

Diary of a SealWatcher

Ohby, True, not all of that nearly 100 miles of coastline could be ACTUAL habitat. But there are many rocks, beaches, etc. that are great potential habitat. Look at it for yourself in GoogleEarth. For starters, there is south Casa and wipeout beach in La Jolla just south of the Children's Pool beach. How about south of Wind n Sea, at "neptune place and bonair street"- you can type that into google maps and investigate for yourself. The opportunities for harbor seal haulout/rookery sights in San Diego County are endless. In fact, just 200 yards north of Children's Pool is a designated seal reserve called "seal rock". There were harbor seals hauled out on it today. You also said the "in reality the closest one is 120 miles away". I think you are referencing the Carpinteria colony? Wait, what about the rookery 10 miles south of Children's Pool beach at Point Loma? There is also San Clemente Island, which is 62 miles away, and it has 7 seal haulouts inhabited by nearly 300 seals. This data is from a 2005 aerial survey conducted by NOAA. www.mmc.gov/drakes_estero/pdfs/noaaswfsc_rpt_05.p…
— April 4, 2011 12:28 a.m.

Diary of a SealWatcher

Hi ohby- Nobody chases seals off the beach while they are giving birth. According to SealWatch, most pups are born overnight or in the early morning hours, when humans are not on the beach. "www.savesandiegoseals.com/wp-content/uploads/Birt…" You take issue with my statement, "Hundreds of alternate haulout/rookery sites exist in San Diego County." Well, using GoogleEarth I have measured roughly 85 miles of ocean coast in San Diego County. In a NOAA stock assessment report for harbor seals, they make the following statement: "In California,approximately 400-600 harbor seal haulout sites are widely distributed along the mainland and on offshore islands, including intertidal sandbars, rocky shores and beaches (Hanan 1996; Lowry et al. 2005)." So in rebuttal to your challenge, we have nearly 100 miles of what would be considered "intertidal sandbars, rocky shores and beaches", ie suitable harbor seal habitat in San Diego County. You may not have taken the time to have read Doyle Hanan's, Ph.D testimony on Children's Pool harbor seals, so I will quote what's relevant here for your convenience: "15. There are many rookery sites (where harbor seal pups are born) other than Children’s Pool in Southern California, and all along the West Coast. If the harbor seals were to abandon the Children’s Pool site, they would likely move to another site and continue to survive and give birth to pups. 16. In my professional opinion, the continued use of Children’s Pool by harbor seals is not critical for the survival of the harbor seals present at Children’s Pool or the harbor seal population as a whole. 17. In my professional opinion, the presence of the advisory rope is not critical to the survival of the harbor seals present at Children’s Pool or the harbor seal population as a whole." www.friendsofthechildrenspool.com/ legal_la_jolla_seals/051805_Hanan_dec.pdf .. ..
— April 3, 2011 11:36 p.m.

Diary of a SealWatcher

"Their population once numbered in the hundreds of thousands;" -in fact, their current population is estimated at 500,000 globally, and the current 40,000 seals in California are estimated by scientists to be at their carrying capacity. It would not be environmentally possible for there to be "hundreds of thousands" in California. Lastly Colleen, I can't help but think you are being a bit hypocritical. How about when you say this "Occasionally, seal opponents say mean things to me, which upsets Kylee very much. When we once observed some people purposely send the seals flushing into the water, Kylee cried." Yet I see you in this video troubling children with your rather intimidating words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaQGlbOO0MQ Those kids in the video were quite upset after you left. They kept asking their mom why people were harassing them. The seal activist (you) made those kids upset. All they were doing was enjoying the seals and the beach. In general, these things are true of Children's Pool beach and its seals: 1. Most are well acclimated to humans and continue to use the beach despite beachgoers presence. Tourists and seal lovers can continue to watch seals with shared use. I saw it today, and I see it every time I am at the beach. 2. Hundreds of alternate haulout/rookery sites exist in San Diego County. There is another rookery on Pt. Loma below the waste water treatment plant. 3. The beach was purpose built for human swimming. The addition of the "marine mammal park" amendment to the trust changed nothing, because the city can't dually promote an open beach for swimming and close it as a seal sanctuary. Thus, the "marine mammal park" clause is dead in the water. 4. Nowadays, harbor seals at La Jolla beaches enjoy a complete absence of terrestrial predators predators; humans flushing them in the water occasionally is not damaging to the seals. The seals experiencing "stress" is an entirely natural thing... how do you suppose they evade predators, both in and out of the water? I hope my above comments are in line with the San Diego Reader's comment policy. Moderator, if they are not, please email me and let's edit them to conform. I believe that there is certainly room for differing opinions and reader responses... isn't that what the comments section is for? I believe Colleen has her heart in the right place, but has picked the wrong cause. The facts are clearly on the side of a shared use policy.
— April 3, 2011 10:17 p.m.

Diary of a SealWatcher

Thank you for sharing your story Colleen. Your spirit of volunteerism is appreciated. Unfortunately you are operating on a few assumptions/ideas that happen to be false. May I make some comments on a few of your statements? "Seeing them, I realized the significance of my responsibility. I was the appointed guardian of their necessary sleep." -I'm curious, who do you suppose was guarding the seals' sleep 200 years ago from natural terrestrial predators such as coyotes, california grizzly bears, and golden eagles when such natural predators weren't either hunted to extinction or denied access to the coast as a result of today's concrete jungle? Were the seals not able to survive on their own back then? "Harbor seals selected Casa Beach as a resting and breeding ground for thousands of years before people settled in Southern California." -You do know that "Casa Beach", commonly referred to as the Children's Pool, is a man made beach and did not exist 80 years ago, let ago thousands? The seawall directly led to the formation of a beach at this location, and has been only utilized by harbor seals in any numbers for the last decade. "As it happens, this particular stretch of beach is critical to the survival of San Diego’s small harbor seal colony. Their nearest alternate mainland rookery is 170 miles away, just south of Ventura County. Today San Diego offers 73 miles of recreational beaches. The survival of the harbor seals depends upon a specific, highly contested 200 feet." - You may want to reference a testimony given to the city of San Diego by Doyle Hanan, Ph.D and noted harbor seal expert, which contradicts your entire statement above. I tend to take this gentleman's analysis of the situation instead of something Dorota told you. http://www.friendsofthechildrenspool.com/legal_la… (the URL may not directly link but if you would like to see it copy and paste it into your address bar. It's quite interesting)
— April 3, 2011 10:07 p.m.