Re “La Jolla Cove working group creates five-point public access plan to present to San Diego” (June 3): I think whatever can be humanely done to remove seals and sea lions from the cove as well as Boomer Beach and the Children’s Pool should be done. There are plenty of alternative places for them to haul out and pup. These beaches are now polluted because of them. I swim at the cove every week, all year long. I’ve noticed the water is rarely clear and there are less fish.
I when there were no sea lions at the cove. It was beautiful and still a popular beach for locals and tourists. The present situation is unhealthy and needs to be addressed. In the meantime, a ranger or docent needs to be there daily.
— Angela Shaw, Point Loma
There appears to be something missing from the La Jolla Cove plan to reduce friction between sea lions and humans, and that is any hint of marine mammal science or expertise. Though NOAA has a list of legal deterrence options, none of them have been deployed or will be if the Seal Society has its way.
It is an incontrovertible fact that marine mammal behavior changed over the decades. Harbor seals never lived in the Children’s Pool, and sea lions never hauled out on Point La Jolla, which is now closed to humans year-round. Where is the Scripps Institute study of why this occurred?
— Kennedy Gammage, Hillcrest
