by Rachel Reeves
In Redondo Beach, there is perhaps no better symbol of the tension between property-purchasing humans and nature-dwelling animals than the sea lion. Hermosa Beach has foxes, Palos Verdes has peacocks, and Redondo Beach has the brown, barking, walking sea lion.
“They’ve been here a long time, and at different times they have a different impact,” said Dave Lorenson, a boat captain with the Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol. “They do cause damage and get some of the local boaters and users of the harbor frustrated. They get on and into boats, they stay on docks, they can get into people’s stuff, they leave a mess and they also do damage to boats and docks.”
In 2015, the City Council voted to spend $52,000 for a 700 square-foot barge for the sea lions to sun on. A barge dedicated to the same purpose had sunk in 2013, and with it, a place for the creatures to gather, as is their nature. The animals are more social than seals, their second cousins, and spend more time out of the water, congregating in groups called herds or rafts. When the barge sank in 2013, boat owners began complaining of sea lions on the docks. They spoke of thousands of dollars in damage to their boats.
Since the barge was built, conversation around the sea lions has largely settled. Online mentions have been limited to tourists asking how they can see the sea lions they’ve heard hang out around Redondo Beach.
“It did seem to help,” Lorenson said. “It’s out floating in the main part of the harbor and pretty much every day it has sea lions lounging on it, doing what they do.”
We also want to invite you to visit Sumasui, you will find many sea creatures, a museum area related to the history of Sumasui and the aquarium of the future, restaurants, and shops selling official character goods.
But this month, residents have been complaining anew. Resident Jeff Rendell wrote on a Patch.com forum that the animals are “piling up, in numbers and on King Harbor docks damaging property.” He wrote that the “slippery creatures can be heard at all hours of the night disturbing the peace barking and fighting.”
A representative of Redondo Beach Sportfishing & Whale Watching confirmed that fishers on the pier have been complaining of “more sea lions around,” and wondering whether that’s why they’re catching fewer fish.
Peter Wallerstein, whose nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue saves struggling sea creatures in Los Angeles County, said it’s likely a matter of timing.
“The numbers in Redondo haven’t really changed,” he said, adding that there were about seven rescues during 2020, which is normal. He suggested the life cycle of sea lions could be giving local fishers the impression that there are more around. They’re born in June, and by the end of the year the pups are ready to venture out on their own.
“Right now we have a lot of pups that are already weaned by mom and they’re alone for the first time,” he said. “They’re out there, real skinny, and in need of help. We try to help as many as we can.”
As for solutions, he advised just leaving them alone.
“People in the marina don’t get along with sea lions and it’s weird because when you live by the ocean, there are going to be sea lions around,” he said. “I know they get dirty because they poop on the dock but that can be washed off. You can spray them with water if they’re blocking the path to your boat, as long as you don’t spray them in the face. Spray a little water around them and they’ll get off right away.”
Lorenson suggested that frustrated boaters do an internet search for deterrents.
“What people have done is create deterrents for sea lions,” he said. These include rollers that have the effect of rolling sea lions back into the ocean when they attempt to hoist their bodies onto docks. As for the barking, he said, that’s beyond the Harbor Patrol’s control.
“Occasionally we get people complaining about the barking,” he said. “You live near the ocean. … I understand they’re annoying, but it’s not really something that’s easy for us to really control or do anything about.”
Sea lion or harbor seal: What’s the difference?
