Appalled by reports of harassment and injury to harbor seals at La Jolla's Casa Beach, The HSUS and four local residents are suing San Diego Mayor Richard Murphy and the City Council over the city’s decision to remove a rope barrier and signs that had kept beachgoers at a safe distance from the seals.
The city's actions have changed the very nature of Casa Beach, also known as the Children's Pool Beach, turning what was once a major tourist destination into a hazard for both humans and seals. Case in point about the seals: Since the barriers were removed in September 2004 and humans given unfettered access to the animals, there have been nearly constant reports of harassment of the seals, and a number of pups and their mothers have been injured. Beachgoers have ventured very close to the seals, frightening them, crowding them off the beach, and even chasing them. A number of seals have given birth prematurely to pups who did not survive.
The complaint, filed by the plaintiffs in San Diego Superior Court, points out that harassment of harbor seals is prohibited by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the California Fish and Game Code, both of which strictly prohibit the "taking" of seals and other marine mammals. The complaint asks for an immediate injunction to protect the 90 to 200 seals who use this unique location virtually year round to haul-out and, between February and May, to breed and nurse their young.
"At a bare minimum the city must restore the advisory signs and rope-line to protect seal pups and their mothers during the critical pup-bearing season," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of The HSUS's animal protection litigation section. "There is simply no logical reason for the city’s stubborn refusal to restore these minimal protections for federally protected wildlife."
Although NOAA Fisheries (formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with jurisdiction over the MMPA) has recommended that the city protect the seals again from human interactions, the agency must itself enforce the MMPA. To date, its efforts to do so have been inadequate, and the city, which has jurisdiction over La Jolla, has refused to prevent interactions or to listen to the concerns of its citizens.
Casa Beach and Harbor Seals
Casa Beach, the southern-most mainland rookery for harbor seals in the United States, has been used by seals to rest, give birth, and tend to their young for years, and became a well-known rookery in the 1980s. This relatively small beach offers important protection to mothers and pups because it provides shelter during both high and low tides, while other nearby haul-out areas are often swept by large waves. A strong surf can separate pups from their mothers during the 6 to 8 weeks of nursing, a separation that can result in drowning or even starvation.
Before the city removed the barrier, humans had free access to the upper portion of the beach, and they let the seals use the area near the water’s edge without interference. The layout of Casa Beach is different from that of haul-out spots on the northern California coast; it offers tourists and locals a prime seal-watching perch without forcing them to climb over rocky areas or hike long distances. While the barriers were still up, the beach was included in tourist guides as a prime location for seal watching. At one time, San Diego lifeguard figures showed that some 80,000 people a month watched seals from Casa Beach.
However, a small but vocal group of residents chafed at sharing the beach with seals, and in September 2004, without preparing any form of environmental documentation or obtaining permits from NOAA or the California Department of Fish and Game, the City Council voted to remove the rope barrier.
Prior to hastily removing the barrier, the city council was warned by scientists and concerned citizens that the removal would jeopardize the welfare of the seals and would constitute an illegal "take" under the California Fish and Game Code and the MMPA. Nevertheless, the city proceeded to take down the barrier, an action that not only caused dismay among many marine mammal scientists, but also, in the words of HSUS President and CEO Wayne Pacelle, "turned gold into lead—treating a rare gathering of seals in an urban setting as nothing but a group of interlopers who need to be driven from a small beach."
A Seal by Any Other Name
Harbor seals are one of six species of pinnipeds (derived from the Latin word for "fin-footed") who inhabit the waters of California. Their scientific name is Phoca vitulina, which translates to "sea calf" or, more loosely, "sea dog," because their large eyes and general facial shape resemble those of a dog.
Harbor seals spend part of each day on dry land, resting and soaking in the heat of the sun after hours at sea foraging for fish. Females also haul-out to give birth, which they do (generally to one pup) once a year. Although pups are able to crawl and swim almost immediately, they must stay close to their mothers for 4 to 6 weeks of nursing, grooming, and protection. Nourished by their mother’s calorie-rich milk, they can double their birth weight in that time. In California, hunting had diminished the population to an estimated several hundred by the 1920s; it is a testament to the effectiveness of federal and state laws that the species has rebounded as successfully as it has.
"It's time for the city of San Diego to own up to its responsibilities under state and federal law," said The HSUS's Lovvorn. "The seals of Casa Beach have enriched the community, and have provided residents with a rare opportunity to observe their wild neighbors from a close but safe distance. The simple rope barrier has allowed humans and seals to peacefully co-exist at Casa Beach for many years, and the immediate restoration of the barrier is the very least the city can do to prevent this unique marine mammal rookery from being lost forever."
