The Sea Lions Are Coming

How do you break up a sea lion party?

A bright light and a blast of water, according to Chuck South of South Mooring Co.

“We use lights, water and, of course, consistency,” South told the City Council Tuesday night during a presentation about the pinnipeds’ practice of vacationing in Newport Harbor each summer.

“They get to know you,” he said. “They’re smart ... smarter than dogs, for all I know.”

Each year around this time, some 40 to 60 sea lions—in addition to the 15 or so of the marine mammals that are full-time residents—arrive in Newport’s waters, Harbor Resources Manager Chris Miller told the council. Like some of Newport’s other summer visitors, the hulking sea lions aren’t always on their best behavior (maybe the city can amend its new to include sea lions).

They “haul out” onto docks and boats and bark day and night, Miller said. In the past, sea lions—males can weigh upward of 850 pounds—have even sunk boats, according to news reports.

“They’ll basically find room anywhere they can. They break all sorts of things on your boat,” Miller said. “They get together and, where there’s more than two, they start to bark and keep people up. It’s often equated to living next to a dog kennel.”

The sea lions may remain in Newport Harbor until as late as October, he said.

Boat owners are responsible for keeping sea lions off of their vessels. Common methods include putting up plastic snow fencing and placing chairs and other objects on swim steps.

South, a contractor who takes to the water at night in a skiff and chases off the animals, was skeptical of such deterrents.

"They’ll crash right through snow fencing," he said. "But they’re trainable—you can train them to just spread out. I’ll pull up on a dock full of sea lions, they’ll jump in the water and just swim off and be quiet by themselves."

"They can be driven out of the harbor … coaxed out, like herding cats. The only problem with that is you’d have to stand there and keep them from coming back in.”

South said shining a light at the sea lions and blasting them with water has proved to be successful for dispersing the animals. But, he said, the battle for Newport Harbor won't soon be won ... by the humans, at least.

“There are about 288,000 of them, California Fish and Game has told us, sitting out on the Channel Islands. The number’s increasing by about 10 percent a year, so our problem isn’t going away," he said.

Though he carries a blunt pole for self-defense, South told council members that he has never had to use it.

“I don’t find them to be what I would qualify as mean,” he said. “Now, if you pull up to a boat with an 800-pound sea lion with 2-inch-long canines yelling at you to leave him alone, it’s intimidating. But he won’t just come after you. I’m glad they’re not lions.”