San Carlos Beach off Cannery Row in Monterey is closed indefinitely after a colony of sea lions settled there for the summer. Photos and video show the shoreline crowded with barking pinnipeds, and reopening depends on when the animals leave. Sea lions along California's coast form colonies of hundreds to thousands, breed in the Channel Islands, and commonly stop in Monterey while migrating between southern and northern California. The Monterey Bay Aquarium notes mature animals migrate south to breed in late spring and return in summer, often with young animals. The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires people and pets to keep at least 50 feet distance. City staff are monitoring nearby Sister City Park.
"Sea lions are back," the city of Monterey announced in a press release about the closure of San Carlos Beach. The beach runs parallel to Cannery Row, the fishing area made famous by John Steinbeck. Photos and video show the beach covered in barking pinnipeds. There's no scheduled reopening, as that depends on when the sea lions decide to move along.
Sea lions are safeguarded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, so human onlookers must treat them with a wide berth. People and pets should give sea lions at least 50 feet of space, or half the length of a football field. "Please remember, we humans are sharing this space with other species," the city of Monterey said.
Sea lions live along California's coast in colonies of several hundred to several thousand individuals. Their breeding grounds are in the Channel Islands, and they often stop in Monterey for a bite of squid and a beach nap on the way up to Northern California. "Some mature animals migrate to southern California breeding grounds in late spring, and then return to Monterey Bay in the summer - often accompanied by more young animals from southern California," the Monterey Bay Aquarium says on its site.
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