Fish flew through the air Wednesday to land in the water where hungry harbour seals gobbled them up, despite new signs banning feeding wildlife at Fisherman’s Wharf.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, which owns the wharf, installed signs this week stating that feeding wildlife is prohibited.
It is taking action because of concerns that food handouts alter the natural foraging behaviour of seals, and worries that someone feeding a seal by hand could be bitten.
Amber MacMullin and Gemma Rosales, of Calgary, went to Fisherman’s Wharf on Wednesday morning to feed the seals. They were among visitors from places such as Mexico and the U.K.
“They are really cute,” MacMullin said. Rosales added, “It’s awesome.”
When herring chunks are tossed in, rotund seals put on a show — shooting through the water to snap up their snacks, flapping their flippers and splashing in the water. Gulls call out as they swoop down in the hopes of finding leftovers.
All this excitement delights tourists who crowd around the dock, snapping photos of the entertaining seals, with their big eyes and dappled silver and grey coats.
After learning of the reason for the ban, MacMullin said, “If it’s not good for the seals, it’s not good for the seals and we shouldn’t do it.”
Others continued to spend $5 to buy six herring from the Fish Store, steps from where seals hang out.
Seals are commonly found at marinas in B.C. They have learned that if they mooch around docks, seafood might fall into the water or get tossed overboard.
They might be cute, but they are equipped with a mouthful of teeth and powerful jaws. Front teeth are pointed and sharp, designed to grab and rip at food.
Many people throw fish in the water, but some want a closer experience. Al-Nashir Charania, the Harbour Authority’s environmental projects co-ordinator, has seen children hand-feed seals while parents take photographs.
He is not aware of anyone at Fisherman’s Wharf being injured by a seal. But the feeding alters seal behaviour. “We are habituating these animals to human hand-held feeding.”
The feeding ban at Fisherman’s Wharf is being coupled with an awareness campaign, and comes in advance of federal plans for legislation to outlaw the feeding of marine mammals.
For now, there’s no enforcement of the ban. The no-feeding signs are an “opportunity to engage with members of the public and the folks around here … To understand why it is not good to feed the wildlife,” Charania said.
There is nothing to indicate that stopping the feeding would harm the four or five seals at the dock, he said.
Those seals are among an estimated 105,000 that live along B.C.’s coast, according to a 2009 Department of Fisheries and Oceans report.
The Fish Store sells a “fair bit” of herring intended for the seals, said owner Peter Gregg.
“People have been coming here for generations to feed seals,” Gregg said. “It’s been going on for over 30 years.
“It goes on up and down the coast, for goodness sake. It’s everywhere.”
cjwilson@timescolonist.comc
