In an ongoing effort to narrow down its options to one recommendation, the La Jolla Cove Access working group met again this month and is that much closer toward a shared-use solution for The Cove. 

The group met at the La Jolla Recreation Center on April 2. There, they agreed to combine its leading options for reducing or eliminating interactions with people and sea lions at The Cove into one idea, and came up with action steps or proposals to carry it forward. 

Public access to The Cove remains unrestricted, but La Jolla’s years-long issue of beach access rights for people and protections for marine mammals against human misconduct has led to the five-month annual public closure of the Children’s Pool, which is home to harbor seals, and the year-round closure of Point La Jolla, where sea lions haul out. 

Some La Jollans worry that similar restrictions could be put in place at The Cove.

The working group was formed in September under the auspices of the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board and includes representatives from the city of San Diego, La Jolla Town Council, Village Merchants Association, Community Planning Association and Parks & Beaches, as well as the local swimming, diving and scientific communities. 

The intent is to come up with a collaborative proposal, with the support of as many interested parties as possible, to present the city “a balanced, year-round access solution … preserving recreational access to The Cove while coexisting with the local pinniped population,” according to the group’s charter. 

The group had two meetings in recent months. The first one on Feb. 25 yielded no recommendations, though an initial draft of their goals, objectives and charter was written. During their March 20 meeting, six options were discussed. Ultimately, it was narrowed down to two possibilities — legally deter the sea lions or combine a shared-use option with a behavior education program.

Thus, at the April 2 meeting, these two options were discussed in more depth in two small groups, and the two groups explored the potential impact to various stakeholders — from tourists to lifeguards, and beach access advocates to animal rights groups.

While discussing how to legally deter sea lions, working group member Chas. Dye said the conversation evolved into how to deter people from engaging in unsafe behavior.

“We realized deterrence can mean new signage, announcements that lifeguards can give, giving a script to the tour buses, fines, extra staff for enforcement, a designated viewing platform … that people can be directed to,” Dye said. The working group could consider applying for a grant to help fund any proposed solutions, he added.

The small group that discussed the shared-use option with a behavior educational program said educating tourists was going to be key. They discussed potential impacts, but did not propose any specific plans. 

Given the overlap in goals and methodology between the two options, working group member Jodi Rudick said “deterring [unsafe human] behavior through education may be ultimately what we go for.” 

Going forward, three members of the working group agreed to meet offline in the coming weeks to combine the two ideas and draft short-term and long-term action steps to present to the full group. From there, an all-encompassing proposal will be drafted. 

The group’s meetings are closed to the general public for the time being. Once the group feels it has made enough progress, it may hold an open meeting to discuss its findings. The proposed timeline for a short-term recommendation is by May.

Originally Published: April 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM PDT