josko Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I had a little seal, 'bout the size of a cat, try to climb on my back deck this weekend. We think my helmet, strapped down just behind the dayhatch, looked like mommy's head. I didn't see them until about 100' out, when mom went down and the little guy swam over. I was soo tempted to touch it, but ended up just slowly gliding past as he tried to get his flippers on deck. Hopefully no harm was done. This got me thinking about policies wrt seals. I think it's illegal to aproach a marine mammal within 500' or harrass them in any way, but does anybody know the specific regs and/or guidelines for kayakers? What's the right thing to do if a seal suddenly pops up 100' away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick stoehrer Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 BASK has something out there regarding....the MMPA prohibits harassment of Marine Mammals...essentially if the thing even turns its head to look at you, someone, somewhere might make the argument that you've altered the animals behavior and are harassing it...my rule of thumb is to try to make sure you don't dislodge it from it's rocky perch and into the water....they're up there sunning themselves to warm up and rest. Cute little suckers.If they're in the water and they're near you...well, clearly they can get around a lot better and if they're checking YOU out...that's on them. Don't see how it could be misconstrued.http://www.bask.org/enviro/viewing.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob budd Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 The youngster may have seen something on your boat or may have simply seen a place to haul out. They will do this and promptly crash on a boad. I had an adolescent quite interested in my radio (fish?) as he craned his neck in its direction, looked up, then craned his neck further. Eyes, face, and especially the mischief reminded me of a dog.If they come to you there's not much you can do. If the landed set start to look nervous and or a few start fussing or even heading for the water you shoud stop approaching. If one or a few get curious the body language is different and they approach rather than disappearing.The thing about disturbing them in colder weather is that they are sunning to maintain body heat and if sent into the water consume some of their stored fat such that they may run out before winter becomes spring and effectively starve to death by way of excess time in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Having a baby haul out on the back deck of a kayak seems to be a regular occurrence. Paddling around boothbay I have seen it happen 3 times so far. The theory is they were tired and need a place to reset. They seem to haul out if the kayaker doesn't get scared and capsize they will rest on the boat for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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