Harbor seals at danger in La Jolla, California

Casa Beach, also known as the Children's Pool, is a tiny beach in La Jolla, California that is famous for its colony of harbor seals that rest and give birth there. Unfortunately, there is a recent move to dredge the beach and make it into a “bathing pool” thereby leading to the habitat loss of harbor seals that live there. The approximately 200 strong harbor seal colony at this site is the only one of its kind in Southern California. This beach is a rookery where pups are born on the beach every year. If this dredging plan goes ahead we will no more see the seals on the beach.

The threats that these seals face are multi pronged. Local fishermen feel that the seals feeding on the fish affect their catch, and there are instances where these fishermen kill the seals. In addition to this, there are reports of hobby hunters who derive pleasure in killing or maiming the seals.

Finally we have some wealthy and influential local residents who do not like the seals being there for reasons such as the odor caused by the excretion, higher traffic because of the people coming to see the seals and they would like to have the luxury their own private sun bathe beach
without the crowds.

Uncertain times ahead: Harbor seals resting at Casa Beach, La Jolla California.

I happened to speak with Marjanne Alam a member of a group called APRL(Animal Protection and Rescue League) who was doing a night‐watch to try prevent and document any harassment of these helpless creatures. In what she describes as a ‘scandalous’ turn of event, the concerned authorities have approved dredging of the beach immediately, not even waiting for the permits to be issued by the local governmental, military and environmental authorities.













A voice for the voiceless: Marjanne explains the plight of seals.

Marjanne who works for the United Nations Environmental program says that there is a blatant disregard for the habitat of these creatures. She cites the example of how the kelp forests in the seas are under severe threat as a result of unchecked otter and sea urchin populations, which was in turn caused by the killing of sea lions.

Marjanne also narrated incidents to me, which describe pressure tactics and harassment by the civic authorities towards APRL volunteers, because the people who oppose the seals being at the cove are rich and influential. The most evident example of this is the fact that two lifeguards were placed under restraint order because of their involvement in harassment of ARPL volunteers.

The problem here is that despite of having a federal law that prohibits interfering with the habitat, the city of San Diego has favored the opening up of this tiny strip of sand beach to human use, whereby jeopardizing the home of these seals which are very shy in nature. This move apparently is in contradiction with the federal law.

Harbor seals must haul‐out (come out of the water onto dry land) each day in order to survive. Between 30% and 40% of their time is spent in this way. Harbor seals spend their entire lives along the same stretch of coastline. If the proposed drudging plan goes ahead we will see the habitat loss of these helpless animals, and in the near future we would also see how the eco‐system gets affected.

As a parting thought we need to understand that we need respect for the environment that we live in. The present day that we live in is not inherited by us, but our children lease it to us.