La Jolla group proposes plans to protect sea lions during pupping season
LA JOLLA A new five-point plan has been developed to prevent human harassment of sea lions at La Jolla Cove during their pupping season from mid-May to mid-September Sea lion births peak in June and July with Point La Jolla a nearby rookery closed year-round to protect birthing mothers Nonprofit La Jolla Parks and Beaches Inc s Cove Access Working Group which includes a broad cross-section of Cove users has come up with a comprehensive plan for protecting sea lions That plan includes Improved signage an educational script for tour bus operators about sea lion behavior expectations designated viewing area s above the beach and rangers onsite plus needed ropes cones as well as a few kind of system deterrent like a sonic system to possibly relocate problematic wildlife The working group itself is part of La Jolla Parks and Beaches Inc but it includes people outside of our group noted LJP B spokesperson Chas Dye We demanded to involve as plenty of stakeholders as practicable Dye mentioned the working group includes four LJP B members as well as representation from La Jolla Village Merchants Association Cove swimmers and the Sierra Club Seal Society of San Diego which employs participants to monitor the Cove daily during summer sea lion pupping season Dye noted the issue is especially relevant now with the Fourth of July She pointed out that three sea lion pups died a year ago during this peak visitor time in La Jolla possibly from exposure to sightseers during the week of the national holiday celebration Robyn Davidoff chair of the Sierra Club Seal Society and a member of LJP B s Cove Access Working Group announced something more needed to be done to enhance the protection of birthing seal mothers Sea lions have better scent than dogs she disclosed If you touch a sea lion baby it changes their scent Sea lions identify each other by scent When a returning mother comes back to feed her pup if the pup s scent has been disrupted she will not feed her pup and will abandon it Already we ve had eight sea lion babies born Three have died and two have been abandoned and rescued by SeaWorld all from human interventions District Councilmember and Council President Joe LaCava disclosed he s on board with efforts to separate sea lions from sightseers It s major to ensure unfettered society access to the beach at La Jolla Cove while keeping residents visitors and marine life safe he stated We understand there is a proposal from the working group and look forward to hearing their ideas Pointing out that none of the five points in the Cove Access Group s plan are perfect Dye commented the group collectively concurs that these suggestions will help mitigate the chaos down there Of the group s five protection plan proposals Dye noted We have to make sure they re legally feasible otherwise the city will not encouragement us The five points also have to prove to be effective We want to keep people off the beach to protect the sea lions reported Dye We prefer they visitors hang out in a viewing area to be created We d also like to have rangers with boots on the ground down there Dye added that the next step in implementing the five-point sea lion protection plan is to present them to the city and ask How much assistance can we count on from you Davidoff of the Sierra Club explained a major issue in this whole plan to protect birthing sea lions is how to properly educate the constituents about the necessity for doing that People see these animals like they re our dogs they seem friendly so they think it s OK to help themselves to getting close to them she reported We can t allow them to put themselves near the sea lions especially not the newborn babies
