For a printable version of this information, please click here.
.
- There is no beach access allowed during harbor seal pupping season (Decem
ber 15 through May 15) per San Diego Municipal Code 63.0102(e)(2), Ordinance 20360 (see page 8).
- Between May 16 and December 14 each year, the City’s viewing guideline rope helps visitors to view the seals from a safe distance.
- Casa Beach in La Jolla is the only NOAA-recognized mainland harbor seal rookery between the Mexican Border and Ventura, 160 miles to the north.
- The sea wall was built in 1931 with funds donated by Ellen Scripps. At that time, the State granted a tideland trust to the City of San Diego. In 2009 the State Senate passed SB428, which added an additional use to the Statutes of 1931: to allow Casa Beach to be used as “a marine mammal park for the enjoyment and education of children.”
- Harbor seals began hauling out at Casa Beach in the early 1990’s. The first births were documented in 1996 (Yochem and Stewart, 1998). Soon thereafter, Casa Beach was officially recognized as a rookery by NOAA.
- Federal Law prohibits harassment of seals. This includes flushing them, touching them, chasing them, feeding them, swimming with them, or engaging in any other action which causes the seals to alter their natural behavior.
- The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recommended a 50-foot distance be maintained between humans and seals because this is the distance needed to prevent harassment.