A seafood bounty draws sea lions to SF’s Pier 39 in numbers not seen in 15 years

On May 4, 2024By Vaseline

The echoes of barking and blubber slapping have grown louder in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

An unusually large herd of sea lions was brought from the waters of the bay to hang out at the docks of Pier 39, a popular tourist destination. According to pier officials, this is the most sea lions the area has seen in 15 years.

More than a thousand sea lions were counted this week, harbor master Sheila Chandor of Pier 39 told several media.

An abundance of anchovies and herring in the bay’s waters has prompted the pinnipeds to feast ahead of the mating season, which begins next month, Chandor told SF Gate.

“It’s all about the food,” she told the Associated Press. “They are preparing for the mating season. It’s spring. They are ready to rock and roll in the Channel Islands, and we are a fun pit stop with delicious seafood.”

‘Sentinels for the Sea’

The surge in sea lions is generally a good sign of the animal’s strong population and the health of its habitat, says Adam Ratner, director of conservation at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California.

California sea lions serve as “sentinels for the sea,” Ratner said. “Their population kind of reflects the health of the ocean. So obviously it’s a great thing to see large numbers of California sea lions.”

The bigger picture of the ocean’s ecological health is harder to assess. Because climate change can cause fish populations to move, the seafood buffet in San Francisco Bay doesn’t mean there are more fish overall, Ratner said.

“We’re seeing fish stocks shifting and moving to different places,” he said. “It’s not necessarily that we’re seeing more fish, but the fish are moving to different areas.”

In recent years, the sea lion population at the pier has hovered around 300 to 400 in the winter and up to 700 in the spring, Chandor told the AP.

A meeting place for sea lions since 1989

The smooth residents have been a top attraction for tourists for almost 35 years. The waterfront became a hotspot for mammals in 1989.

That fall, the docks at Pier 39 had just been renovated, but the boats had not yet moved back in. Then the sea lion invasion began.

“You had this open real estate, mainly in downtown San Francisco, that some sea lions saw and said, Hey, wouldn’t this be a great place to rest and relax?” Ratner said.

The sea lion crowd grew from a handful in September to about 150 in January 1990, Ratner said. Their surprise arrival attracted fans and foes alike. Some marina residents and workers were put off by the smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw the animals as a bright spot after the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, SF Gate reported in 2019.

Pier 39 officials turned to the Marine Mammal Center to figure out what to do with the sea lions. The final decision, Ratner said, was to let the sea lions stay and live with people.

“It really turned into something great,” he said. “It’s just a testament to how can we actually work together to think about how can we essentially share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all parties involved?”