By Larry Clinton, Sausalito Historical Society
California sea lions have been federally safeguarded ever since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1975. But that wasn’t always the case.
Before the turn of the 20th Century, a controversy surfaced other whether sea lions threatened Sausalito’s then-prosperous fishing industry. In February 1928 the Mill Valley Herald reported: “C. A. McNeill of Tiburon, who has sailed the bay habitually for the past forty years, expresses the opinion that the sea lions act as watch dogs of the Golden Gate to capture large schools of striped bass, which would otherwise enter the bay and add materially to the supply of valuable sea food. Mr. McNeill holds that, even when not captured, the bass are scattered and driven away by the onsluaghts of the sea lions.”
The article went on to spell out both pro and anti-sea lion viewpoints:
“Local residents are very familiar with the fact that the City of San Francisco cherishes its Seal Rocks as a leading attraction for tourists. The sea lions have done their bit toward making San Francisco famous. A recent writer on the subject holds that there is comparatively small danger of depredations here as Seal Rocks are used as a sort of half-way house by the sea lions and not as a breeding ground.”
Seal Rocks is a group of small rock formation islands in the ocean just off the Cliff House. More about them later. The Herald article continues:
“Absolute conclusions as to the comparative value of sea lions and as to their depredations have not been reached… At the behest of the fishing industries, the Fish and Game Commission called a meeting in San Francisco to discuss the situation and to decide on a course of action. The fishing industries were represented and several scientific men attended. The conclusions arrived at by this conference were that the sea lions were too numerous, that they were destructive to the fishing industries and that their numbers should be reduced.”
As most of the large rookeries were located on lighthouse reservations, the Commission received permission from the Treasury Department to kill sea lions on those federal installations. “But,” the Herald reported, “before any killing had been done the permission was revoked by wire, on May 31st. The suspension was due to protests from the United States Fish Commission, the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, the New York Zoological Society and various others.”
The Herald reports: “Although the California Commission could not kill sea lions on the federal reservations, they were so confident of the correctness of their stand that several of their deputies were ordered to hunt sea lions and a great many were killed.” That culling “arose chiefly from the groundless fear that one of the picturesque features of San Francsico, the Seal Rocks, would be destroyed.”
In October of that year, the Herald ran another article quoting Paul Bonnot, a scientific investigator employed by the Commercial Fisheries Bureau of the Division of Fish and Game, saying: “Bonnot probably knows more about sea lions and their habits than anyone on the Pacific Coast and he is emphatic in his championing of their cause. Due to Bonnot’s investigation the theory that sea lions are a menace to the fishing industry has been exploded, he declares, and his studies disclosed that the sea lions have aided the industry as they generally eat fish that are of little benefit. A recent movement to have the sea lions slaughtered wholesale was doubtless stopped by the publication throughout the State of the results of his investigation of conditions.”
Seal Rocks were a favorite sea lion haul-out until the Loma Prieta earthquake hit San Francisco in October 1989. According to the Marine Mammal Center, which treats sick and injured seals and sea lions, the boisterous barking pinnipeds deserted the barren rocks and some moved to Pier 39's K-Dock. After much debate and research, the experts from The Marine Mammal Center recommended that the sea lions stay in their newfound home.
With a plentiful supply of food from the Bay and an environment protected from predators, the Pier39 Marina proved to be an ideal living situation for the sea lions. Within a few short months, the number of sea lions grew to more than 300 and hit an all-time record of 1,701 in November 2009. Pier 39 installed floats to support them, which bring them closer to human sightseers, and — hopefully — keep them off the boat docks.
While the number of sea lions at K-Dock rises and falls with the seasons, available food supply and natural migration patterns, the world-famous sea lions always have a home at Pier 39.
Marine Mammal Center docents are on hand every day to greet tourists and local visitors to K-Dock and answer questions about the popular pinnipeds.
PHOTO BY BILL HUNNEWELL © THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER
Sea lions are safe and remain a top attraction at Pier 39.