Editor,
Thank you for your fine coverage of one of Californias most contentious
issues- the Harbor Seals of La Jolla ('Beach deal is tough to seal', Tony
Perry, LA Times, Sept. 30th).
While the photographs were stellar (no pun intended), I must take issue with
some of the articles fundamentals. First of all, it is the height of hypocracy
to focus on seal poop as an issue in San Diego, a city which holds the very
last 301(h) 'Waiver' of the Federal Clean Water Act, allowing for extra fecal
debris in their human sewage ocean discharge.
The rest of these dangerous waivers have been eliminated, most recently in
Orange County and Morro Bay. Are we saying seal poop is bad, but the dumping of
millions of gallons per day of human sewage -treated to less than even the
minimum standards of 30 years ago- is just fine and dandy? All animals
eliminate that which is most harmful to their own physiology- birds eliminate
bird poop, dogs eliminate dog poop and so on. It is human fecal matter that is
of the gravest concern to humans. The magnatude and filth of the human
discharge at Point Loma as compared to any seal excrement at Casa Beach renders
the 'seal poop' angle moot.
Then, there is the issue of "just why the seals adopted the beach in the
1990's..."
According to the USGS survey done in the late 1800's, that particular area
was called 'Seal Rock'. Those Harbor Seals have used the spot as a birthing
ground since the days before colombus landed in the new world. Casa Beach is
now the only Harbor Seal birthing sanctuary south of Carpenteria, and an
excellent bet to soon be protected as a State Marine Reserve under Governor
Schwarzeneggers Marine Life Protection Act.
Finally, humans and Harbor Seals are not compatible to share the birthing
beach, because of a hard-wired evolutionary trait carried in Harbor Seals that
historically protected them from predation by Grizzly Bears. It's a behavior
called 'flushing', and their babies are trampled if this process happens too
often, as is the case at present-day Casa Beach.
When Harbor Seals see a predator approaching (and, to a Harbor Seal, humans
look like a Grizzly walking upright), they make a mad dash for the safety of
the sea. (Elephant Seals, more suited to life on offshore islands, lack this
trait and usually died when they came to the mainland).
The time has come to enforce laws like the State Coastal Act and Federal
Marine Mammal Protection Act, thoughtfully designed to protect our coast, and
our precious coastal resources. Perhaps San Diego might even follow the Clean
Water Act by getting rid of its sewage waiver, something all other wastewater
dischargers in the state have already done!
Joey Racano, Director
Ocean Outfall Group
www.stopthewaiver.com
Joey Racano
498 Luzon St
Morro Bay, Ca
93442
Home: 805 772-2988
Cell#: 805 540-8970
let's save the world!
Check out my blogs at: www.stopthewaiver.com
---------------------------------
Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows.
Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.
