San Diego Coastkeeper's Position on Harbor Seals at Children's Pool in La Jolla

SUMMARY

Coastkeeper has been engaged in discussions and actions involving uses of the harbor seal rookery and Children’s Pool at South Casa Beach, La Jolla, since 2004. Over the past six years we have met with a number of individuals and groups who are involved in efforts to secure Casa Beach as a marine mammal park and those who endeavor to keep the beach open to shared human and seal use year round.

San Diego Coastkeeper supports the protection of the harbor seal colony and rookery at Casa Beach (Children’s Pool) in La Jolla in the following manner:

• We support closure of the beach rookery to human use during pupping season (December 1 – June 1) so as the seals may give birth and nurse their young with no disturbance.
• We encourage federal enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act¹ of 1972 at Casa Beach, which prohibits the hunting, harassing, capture or killing of any marine mammal or attempt to do so.²
• We support the permanent installment of educational signage about the harbor seals at Casa Beach, as well as the installment of a guideline rope during non-pupping season.
• We support the prohibition of dogs on the beach at all times.

Please download the complete PDF of San Diego Coastkeeper's position on harbor seals at Children's Pool in La Jolla.

¹ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/laws/mmpa.pdf
² “The effect of this set of requirements is to insist that the management of animal populations be carried out with the interest of the animals as the prime consideration. - House of Representatives, No. 707, 92nd Congress, 1st Session, 18, 22 [December 4, 1971]