The decade-long feud over the presence of a harbor seal
colony at the La Jolla Children’s Pool became more complex last month after the
federal government stepped in to defend the rookery, which was immediately
followed by a major setback for advocates concerned with the safety and
protection of the seals.
Last month, the National Marine and Fisheries Service
requested that San Diego city officials set up a rope barrier to protect the
seals during their calving season, which began last week and continues through
May.
A branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, the NMFS has received five to 10 seal-related phone calls per
week in the past six months, according to officials. Callers to the
organization’s marine-mammal hotline have reported occurrences in which the
seals had allegedly been harassed or scared off by humans.
“The rope barrier has been a needed step in the right
direction, but closing the beach would make a safer environment for the nursing
seals,” said Donald Masters, a special agent at the Long Beach headquarters, in
a letter to City Attorney Michael Aguirre.
However, Superior Court Judge Yuri Hofmann ruled on Jan. 4
that a rope barrier separating the seals and the public could not be installed,
because it conflicted with a previous ruling by Superior Court Judge William C.
Pate.
City officials were divided over the NMFS request, because a
2005 ruling by Pate that stated the city was in violation of a 1931 trust
agreement by Ellen Browning Scripps, the original conditions of which stated
that the Children’s Pool must remain a bathing pool for children and a public
park.
However, more than a decade ago, seals began occupying the
beach and eventually overtook it.
Pate’s ruling required the city to return the beach to its
“pre-seal” condition within six months, barred the city from protecting the
seals and ordered the dredging of 3,000 cubic yards of sand accumulation at the
Children’s Pool.
The ruling was later upheld by a 3-0 appellate court
decision last September. The state Supreme Court declined to hear the case two
months later.
The seals’ continuous presence on the beach poses a health
threat to swimmers because their feces contaminate the water, prompting the
city to limit beach access to swimmers, divers and tourists. The San Diego City
Council previously acted on a compromise, erecting the rope barrier for several
birthing and pupping seasons.
Members of the UCSD community have participated in guarding
the seals’ designated area, educating visitors and conducting research, while
others have written letters and spoken at city council meetings.
Bryan Pease, an attorney for the Animal Protection and
Rescue League, filed suit in federal court
early last month, arguing that Pate’s interpretation violates the Marine
Mammal Protection Act.
The MMPA prohibits the harassment, hunting, capture, killing
or collecting of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens.
At the Jan. 4 hearing, Hofmann gave the city two weeks to
provide an update on its efforts to improve the water quality at the Children’s
Pool.
In an APRL-sponsored opinion poll by Zogby International, 81
percent of San Diegans and 91 percent of La Jollans said they want increased
protection for the seals.
