Rising number of marine life interactions with people drawing concerns in SLO County
MORRO BAY, Calif. -- The Marine Mammal Center is expressing concern about the rising number of negative interactions between people and marine life in San Luis Obispo County.
"We've seen an increase in negative interaction," said Aliah Meza, Marine Mammal Center Operations Manager. "We saw a tripling in San Luis Obispo County, from 2020 to 2021, of these interactions, varying from folks actually touching the animal, potentially dragging them back to the ocean, and these can be really harmful for marine mammals."
According to the nonprofit organization, it has seen people who have dragged seals by their rear flippers back to the water, picked up animals, poked wildlife with sticks, and crowded around marine life for selfies causing maternal separations.
As a result, the impacts caused by human interaction have ranged from minor to major injuries, all the way up to death.
"Often states of malnutrition because (pups) have been separated from their mothers too early," said Steve Levine, Marine Mammal Center volunteers. "There's injuries, unfortunately often times with entanglements with fishing gear and foreign matter and stuff that they have to be extracted from."
As these incidents have escalated, the center reports San Luis Obispo County is experiencing the third highest rate of negative human interaction along its 600-mile California response range.
Meza indicated the county has three main troublespots for negative human interactions, which include Morro Bay, Avila Beach and San Simeon.
"It can be emotionally troubling, but you have to look past that and understand that we're there to help this animal, rehab it, and hopefully return it to the wild," said Levine.
On Wednesday morning, the center transported an injured harbor seal for further treatment in the Bay Area. Meza said the the animal was the 3000th harbor seal it had rescued.
"We were able to provide triage emergency care, stabilization before it went to our main hospital in Sausalito for the rest of its rehabilitation," said Meza. "The ultimate goal for all of the animals that we rescue is to release them back to the ocean."
With spring break in full swing and COVID-19 restrictions loosened, as well as summer fast approaching, the center is worried about even more negative interactions with marine life.
In response, Marine Mammal Center is now beginning to provide outreach to the community in an effort to educate the public about the importance of safe wildlife viewing.
"It's best to never interact with them physically," said Levine. "Always keep your distance. Resist the temptation to touch them, to pick them up, to get too close, use the zoom on your camera so you don't have to get too close."
While San Luis Obispo County is experiencing a rise in negative human interactions with marine wildlife, the same situation is happening further south, but not in similar numbers.
According to the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute (CIMWI), which operates in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, negative interactions are rising in those locations as well, but less significantly.
Like the Marine Mammal Center, CIMWI is also reaching out to the public in a similar outreach effort to remind people to always maintain a safe distance between themselves and marine wildlife.
