Kayakers spotted violating Marine Mammal Protection Act

News Channel 5 has obtained video that shows violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In it, two kayakers off of the Monterey Harbor are seen getting a little to close to the wildlife. Sometimes encounters are by accident, some by ignorance. But, the ramifications of getting too close are something many of us don’t even notice.

“Marine mammal disturbances are probably the most frequent violation that we have in the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary,” said Scott Kathey, Federal Regulator Coordinator for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

We showed him the video of a young man swimming within feet of six to eight sea otters. At one point in the video, the man rowed over one.

“The swell was coming from behind him and he looked like he was trying to maneuver,” Kathey observed. “But he doesn’t look like he’s very adept with maneuvering a kayak.”

We also showed the video to Moss Landing based Kayak Connections, which runs tours and rents out kayaks and paddle boards. The manager thought the move to row over the otter was ‘blatant,’ and said he wasn’t surprised to see a kayaker get that close to sea otters.

To curb the number of animal encounters, Kayak Connections show their customers safety videos before letting them head out, reminding them of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Act is an attempt to keep the wildlife wild. Meaning, keeping a safe distance from the animal. There are no clear guidelines because it varies from location to time of year. The recommended distance is about 100 feet.

“The minute you start seeing a response from them,” Kathey explains, “That’s close enough.”

Marine life experts say it can be stressful for the animal. Kathey likens it to someone constantly knocking on your door then running away.

“What the kayakers won’t see is that days and weeks of this activity,” Kathey explains, “The otters lose weight, it opens them up to disease and infection and they could potentially die. But it will be the death of 1,000 cuts. No one person who went by the otter will see the nexus. They won’t see that connection, but it’s there.”

Fines for disturbing, even harming the animals can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, even jail time depending on the severity.