Although harbor seals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the reality is that many tourists unfortunately don’t understand the effect it can have on the seals when they engage in behaviors such as posing close to the hauled out seals for a selfie.  Such seemingly innocuous actions can result in premature births, abandoned pups, and even pup mortality. The City’s Ranger does a wonderful job educating visitors about our seals, but he isn’t on-site 24 hours a day. This is why the Seal Conservancy fought so hard for winter beach closure (December 15 to May 15 annually), and to keep the viewing guideline rope up during the remaining seven months of the year (May 16 to December 14).

05-15-2010 Consequences of the Rope Removal

10-22-2012 Harassed Seal Snaps at Boy

01-05-2013 Human Seal

02-14-2013 Two Women Appear to Abuse the Seals