The Goff Island harbor seals, a group of roughly 30 animals in Laguna Beach, CA, faces a daily struggle to thermoregulate (sun themselves after hunting in a cold ocean), rest, give birth, and avoid predation. Their habitat--the rocky intertidal zone--is heavily impacted by human foot traffic that disturbs and stresses the seals, often causing them to return to the ocean and disrupting their habitat and resting period. Having observed this issue, our goal as local conservationists is to do good for these animals by having local government, as per the Marine Mammal Protection Act's definition of "take," place a sign to educate the public on the significance of the rocky intertidal area as harbor seal habitat, allowing them to rest, avoid predation, give birth, and thermoregulate in peace. Our goals are to reduce seal harassment/habitat disruption, and increase public education to create a more harmonious interaction between humans and wildlife at this location, with the long term goals of benefiting the overall health of this harbor seal group by reducing their stress levels, ultimately benefiting the entire kelp forest ecosystem at Goff Island with harbor seals serving as high level predators that balance fish and invertebrate populations, productivity, and biodiversity.

For more info on harbor seal biology and our conservation goals, visit our website: https://gwyngreco.wixsite.com/goff-seals