Sea lions causing havoc
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — It took more than a year for Jerry Dunlap to fix up his 1910 dream sailboat.
But it took only a weekend for the weight of about 15 hefty, uninvited sea lions to sink it.
“I was kind of dumbfounded,” said Dunlap. “I don’t know what my loss is.”
And just like that, Dunlap’s $24,000, 50-foot boat was on the bottom of the harbor.
Sea lions have been wreaking havoc in the Newport Harbor for the past few months, basking in the sun aboard boat decks and barking all night long, keeping residents awake. There was even a report to the city that a mother and child were tipped over in their kayak by a rogue sea lion.
The city is grappling with how to deal with the bothersome creatures. The Harbor Commission will try to find out what other harbor cities have done to deter the animals.
A few of the methods used by other cities in the past include: underwater firecrackers, predator sounds, scarecrows and capture and relocation of the sea lions. None seem to work all that well, said Monica DeAngelis, marine mammal biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Another remedy used by some cities is a “sea lion shooer,” a person who walks around with a stick and bangs it on the dock to disturb them. But that’s costly.
For now, Newport Beach is not going to use any of these tactics, but staff is asking that city officials make it illegal to feed the sea lions.
“The more you feed wild animals, the more they want to hang around,” said Chris Miller, harbor resources supervisor.
Other ideas include a sensor sprinkler — similar to what is used to deter seagulls — that shoots water when the boat moves, Miller said.
The sea lions started showing up in May, when a group of them found a cozy, flat surface to sunbathe near an anglers club by the Balboa Pavilion. They trained themselves how to haul their boisterous bodies up to surfaces, and have been able to get aboard boats using swim stairs and low surfaces.
The Harbor Commission has received a couple dozen complaints, and the sea lion nuisance has been getting worse in the past six weeks, Miller said.
The Harbor Patrol has been spraying sea lions with fire hoses, but they come back aboard within minutes.
“We’ve done what we can,” said Harbor Patrol Lt. Erin Giudice. “Hopefully, we can educate people that these are not nice animals that look cute.”
Boat owners have taken the matter into their own hands. Some have been pulling wire through milk cartons and hanging it around the boats. Others have put lawn chairs upside down on their swim steps, Giudice said.