Citing recent incidents of people getting too close to sea lions at La Jolla Cove — sometimes resulting in scary experiences caught on widely circulated video — the city of San Diego is urging Cove-goers to keep their distance from the pinnipeds.

The Cove’s beach and water remain open to the public with no restrictions — with no immediate plans to change that — but with summer tourism season picking up, city park rangers are asking visitors to watch the sea lions from the landings above the beach rather than on the beach itself.

“Now that we’re moving into the summer months, it’s very common for swimmers and beach-goers to encounter sea lions,” Michael Ruiz, chief park ranger for the city Parks & Recreation Department, said July 3. “With that, it is very important that you realize the ocean is their home. We want to encourage and educate people in the importance of staying away from sea lions in the water or if they encounter a mother and her pup on the beach. Give them space.”

To “enjoy [the animals] at a safe distance,” the city recommends that “if you are not swimming … stay up at the boardwalk,” Ruiz said. “You could have hundreds of people up there … watching the sea lions all day long. That is what we want. That still allows divers, swimmers and all those going into the water to enjoy themselves as well.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommends viewing sea lions from a distance of at least 50 yards in the water and on land.

“If you are on the boardwalk [above La Jolla Cove], that is about 50 yards away,” Ruiz said. “If you go down to the stairs, you are about 25 yards. You can still be off the beach and still enjoy the sea life, but give them their space.”

Ruiz noted that videos posted recently show people getting close enough to sea lions to cause a reaction from the animals that could have ended in injury.

“We have signs on the boardwalk reminding folks to enjoy the wildlife from a safe distance … but people are getting too close and want to take a selfie,” Ruiz said.

Though no one has been harmed by a sea lion in recent months, “I saw a video recently in which a male sea lion was chasing an individual. No one was hurt, but as they are trying to get away, someone could slip on a rock or not look where they are going. Those are the hazards we are concerned with.”

One such story was featured on TMZ.com, in which La Jolla Cove sea lions barked at and followed two young women who went into the water to try to take close-up pictures of the animals sunbathing on rocks.

Another story on the New York Post website featured a video of a seemingly defensive adult sea lion that had been swimming with a juvenile at The Cove start barking and barreling toward swimmers, forcing them to run out of the way.

“La Jolla Cove is a longtime swimming destination, but it is also right at the edge of a very important marine preserve and it is important that it stays open and that people have equitable access,” Ruiz said. “They may encounter a sea lion, so we are here to remind people they are wildlife and to give them their space, but enjoy your swim and enjoy the beach.”

Another issue, Ruiz said, is beach-goers seeing a sea lion pup by itself and thinking it is abandoned.

“Sea lion mothers regularly go off into the ocean to feed and can stay away for up to 24 hours, but they will be coming back,” he said. “We appreciate the public’s concern that it may appear … the pup is abandoned, [but] it is more likely that it is just resting or sleeping and the mother will be coming back with a full tummy and will be able to care for its baby.”

History repeating?

The recommendations on Cove usage over concerns about people getting too close to pinnipeds has a familiar ring.

A similar advisory effort in 2021 for nearby Point La Jolla eventually led two years later to the year-round closure of that rocky area between La Jolla Cove and Boomer Beach.

In June 2021, San Diego City Councilman Joe LaCava — whose District 1 includes La Jolla — and Parks & Recreation Department Director Andy Field joined other local leaders in announcing that signs would go up around Point La Jolla and La Jolla Cove to encourage people to keep a safe distance from the sea lions. They cited reports of people bothering, and in a few cases harming, sea lions and their pups.

Two months later, LaCava said the public education campaign and sign program were “not particularly effective” and that the city had decided to take “more assertive steps.”

On Aug. 11, the city closed the Point La Jolla area to the public on an emergency basis for five weeks.

By April 2022, a permit application had been filed and approved by the California Coastal Commission to close Point La Jolla and most of Boomer Beach during the annual sea lion pupping season from May 1 to Oct. 31.

A year later, the city announced plans to close public access to Point La Jolla year-round, and in September,  the Coastal Commission unanimously approved a permit for it. The closure is scheduled to be in effect for seven years, after which the city will need to reapply for the permit.

In addition, years of complaints from animal advocates about harassment of harbor seals and their pups at La Jolla’s iconic Children’s Pool prompted the city in 2014 to close the beach there to the public from Dec. 15 to May 15 annually to keep humans and seals separated during pupping season. The permit for that closure runs until 2029.

Robyn Davidoff and Carol Toye, leaders of the Sierra Club Seal Society, which was instrumental in attaining the earlier restrictions, said in an email this week that “there are now nine sea lion pups born in the last few weeks in The Cove and there is a territorial bull [male sea lion] patrolling the area. The current situation where people are disturbing nursing females and petting newborn pups is unacceptable and unlawful, as the Marine Mammal Protection Act protects sea lions against harassment. It is also dangerous for people and sea lions to be in close proximity.”

Still, they said they support “management of the area, but not closure.”

Ruiz said “there are no plans” for any changes to public access at The Cove, and LaCava has said repeatedly that he would fight any attempt to close it.

During a town hall meeting in March at the La Jolla Recreation Center, LaCava said: “We have an ad-hoc group working together to … ensure we do everything we can to keep that beach open. I’m going to do everything I can to keep La Jolla Cove beach open.”

Ruiz echoed that sentiment, saying “La Jolla Cove is a perfect balance between access … for divers, swimmers and surfers. It is important to maintain La Jolla Cove as open.” ♦