Children's Pool

The protected entry, the outstanding diving, and the onshore facilities (lifeguards, parking, restrooms, telephones) make Children's Pool one of the better shore diving sites in San Diego. This is particularly true for newer divers, smaller divers, divers who have limited mobility, and divers who would find a long surface swim burdensome. Of 11 public beaches listed on the lifeguards web page, only 3 are noted as safe for beginning divers and classes, one of which is Children's Pool. http://www.sandiego.gov/lifeguards/beaches/pool.shtml The influx of harbor seals at Children's Pool has limited diver access for almost a decade. Continued inaction by the City of San Diego threatens to cut off access permanently.

The San Diego Council of Divers favors beach access at Children's Pool. It believes shared use by divers and seals is possible and reasonable. Out of the San Diego population, La Jolla residents and divers have the most to lose by closure of Children's Pool.

Some years before 1997, a few seals (perhaps four to eight) would haul out on the sand nearest the Children's Pool breakwater, but they did not cause any problems. Conscientious divers were able to give them a wide berth and still enter and exit the water with ease. Most seals used Seal Rock just offshore from Shell Beach just north of Children's Pool for a rest spot, when the tides were favorable; a spot within easy walking distance for sightseers.

In early 1997, increasing numbers of harbor seals began hauling out on the sand at Children's Pool. By September 1997, the Children's Pool was closed to diving due to high fecal coliform counts in the water. DNA analysis established conclusively that the contamination was from the harbor seals rather than from urban runoff or a sewage spill. Yet from 1998 through 2004, the City Council refused to take any real action to deal with the contamination issue.

Fed up with the City's inaction, Valerie O'Sullivan sued the City to force it to clean up Children's Pool and return it to public use. At trial, the City had a full and fair opportunity to justify the de facto closure of Children's Pool. The City's arguments were rejected by the Superior Court in a clear and well-reasoned opinion in September 2005. http://childrenspool.org/legal/2005-08-25-o-sullivan-vs-city.pdf The judge ordered the City to remedy the contamination and return the Children's Pool to its intended purpose. The City appealed. Many consider the pending appeal to be without legal merit and nothing more than a delaying tactic. The Council of Divers encourages the City to drop its appeal and clean up Children's Pool.

Divers love seals and wish them no harm. In fact, seals and divers coexisted peacefully for many years at Children's Pool. Seals avoid people on land, but have never been particularly afraid of divers, perhaps because they find us amusingly slow and clumsy. The suggestion that divers have harmed seals in the water is just not true.

Harbor seals will not disappear when Children's Pool is returned to use as a public beach. The population of harbor seals in California is about 32,000 and increasing. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/Mrd/faqindx.html#Marmam The rate of increase exceeds the very limited contribution of the local seals. Many of the Children's Pool seals will move a few hundred yards north to Seal Rock, others will move a few hundred yards south to Wipeout Beach. Some will relocate to the numerous pocket beaches along Point Loma. Some will come back to the west edge of Children's Pool when the contamination has been remedied by the City. http://www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/cd1/neighborhoods/lajolla/cpoolfaq.shtml There is no scientific evidence to support the speculation that these highly adaptable marine mammals will die, drown, or fail to figure out how to pup somewhere else.

The concentration of harbor seals on the beach at Children's Pool is not natural or historical. There was no beach at all until about 1941, a decade after the seawall creating Children's Pool was built. The population explosion in 1997 coincided with placement of a rope barrier that gave seals confidence they could expect people to approach and stop, and with Sea World's release of rehabilitated seals rescued from all over the county in this vicinity, some hand fed, or even bottle fed during their stay. Today, Sea World releases 100+ rehabilitated seals every year in that area. The de facto reserve and tourist attraction may be convenient and entertaining, but continued land contact between people and seals has encouraged seals to lose their wariness of people. This wariness is a vital protection behavior for seals.

Having so many harbor seals in one location may not be healthy for the seals. They have already fouled the water in the cove. Any disease would spread rapidly in a group of seals sleeping in each others feces. The San Diego Council of Divers encourages open, respectful discussion based on verifiable facts. It supports the peaceful exercise of coastal access rights in compliance with local, state, and federal law. It does not believe that emotional confrontations or demonstrations - whether pro-diver or pro-seal - are in the best interest of the community. As a representative of the majority of the diving community, the Council will continue to advocate for divers at public meetings and be a source of information to the public.