Marine-mammal advocates are lobbying to make a partial closure of Point La Jolla, a sea lion breeding ground, a year-round prohibition.

Point La Jolla is a rocky portion along the coastline between La Jolla Cove and Boomer Beach, which in recent years has become a popular area for California sea lions to haul out and rest and for sea lion mothers to raise their young during their pupping season.

Previously, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to grant the City’s request to close Point La Jolla from May 1 to Oct. 31 to protect the marine mammals for the next seven years. But animal-rights proponents are claiming it isn’t enough.

There has been an ongoing turf war between humans and pinnipeds along La Jolla’s coast. It began years ago with humans squabbling among themselves over harbor seals settling in at Children’s Pool, which was gifted to La Jolla by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. She paid for the construction of a breakwater wall in 1931, which created a beach where children can play and swim protected from waves coming onshore. There is now a shared-use plan in place to close Children’s Pool beach to humans during the harbor seals’ pupping season annually from Dec. 15 to May 15.

“After evaluating the 2022 seasonal closure, the California Coastal Commission made it clear that public safety and sea lion protection is best served by a year-round closure of Point La Jolla,” said District 1 Councilmember Joe LaCava. “Implementation will continue to preserve ocean access for spear fishers, body surfers, and all who enjoy ocean activities.”

Pro-beach access advocates, displeased by the displacement of people by pinnipeds along La Jolla’s coast, are opposing Point Loma’s year-round closure claiming it threatens Scripps Park’s long-term health.

Bob Evans, chair of La Jolla Parks and Beaches, Inc., which makes recommendations on coastal parks, contended year-round closure of Point La Jolla is not in keeping with preserving and enhancing coastal recreation.

“The park will further deteriorate and suffer under this very environmentally reckless and irresponsible City management plan,” Evans said. “For well over 100 years, Scripps Park has been a favorite destination and heavily used by all San Diegans and visitors from around the world. However, in the last few years, the park’s and surrounding area’s condition has significantly declined, and a major cause is the increased presence of hundreds of pinnipeds.

“The once-thriving tidepools in the area have been decimated, and the Cove and surrounding beaches and waters continually test of bacteria levels that exceed health standards with posted unsafe human contact advisories.”

Added Evans: “It’s understandable the City needs to provide safety for humans and prevent harassment of sea lions. However, the negative consequences associated with the presence of the rookery coupled with the impact of this City’s short-sighted plan will eventually spell doom for the park and its many recreational opportunities. This proposed City plan is unbalanced and is fueled by social media and single-interest groups. Scripps Park needs a locally based, long-term park conservation plan to properly invest and protect and maintain the environment and natural resources: a plan to improve the quality of life for all park users; a plan that includes the well-being of local residents and business community; and a plan to preserve critical elements of this local heritage, culture, and for all recreation and visitor opportunities. Then ‘everyone’ wins.”

Robyn Davidoff, Sierra Club Seal Society chair, contended year-round closure of Point La Jolla is in order. “The park rangers stationed there had difficulty in managing the crowds or keeping people safe because tourists were approaching the seals and touching them and putting their children next to them for photo opportunities,” she said.

“We weren’t the ones who created this plan for year-round closure. It was the Coastal Commission and the City. The closure was the easiest – and most cost-effective way – to do this while providing a beach-access corridor for swimmers, body surfers, and spearfishers who can enter and exit the water year-round.”

The proposed plan to close Point La Jolla year-round is expected to come before City Council sometime this summer or early fall, before going to the California Coastal Commission for final approval.

Photo by Thomas Melville