seals, are they dangerous?

[scottie3030]

hey people!!!

I was down Teignmouth the weekend hoping to do some spearfishing but the weather was pants so i couldnt get in. When i was walking along the beach a massive seal popped his head out the water just feet from the shore!

If i wanted to go spearfishing would it be safe to be in the water when there in the area?

 

[fcallagy]

Hi scottie,
afaik they are usually fairly benign, some have a passing intrest others will be watching you but you will never see them others will playfully nibble fins and rarely some may take an inquisitive nip at you but this is the pupping season at present as far as i know so give a wide berth if your near to where the pups are.
Maybe some others with more experiance interacting with them can give more info. the seals near where i dive usually disappear as soon as i hit the water

 

[foxfish]

I guess there will be exceptions but the ones we meet are cool.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Southern California is a long way from the British Isles, but I can't imagine that the pinnipeds have different personalities.

We have two major species here- California sea lions and harbor seals. The sea lions can be aggressive about taking your speared fish, but I've never heard of one attacking a diver. However, I have heard of them grabbing fish attached to a stringer on the weight belt and pulling the diver down.

A dive buddy was cleaning a fish on the swim step of my boat and a large bull took it out of his hands. Its not hard to envision an animal making a slight error in judgement and biting a hand while trying to take a fish from a diver.

Our harbor seals just seem to want to make love. I've had them clasp my fin their chests with their flippers, try to touch my mask with their nose, and just make a general nuisance of themselves by following me around and diving with me.

 

[gman]

From my experience harbor seals and sea lions are pretty docile for the most part. They are very curious and playful. HOwever, during breeding season they can become very aggressive if you get into their territory. A surfer friend of mine was chomped severley in the shoulder in Northern Ca. I had an extremely large (35 feet at least ) sea lion bear his teeth and give me a hideous bark at the surface and under water. He even followed me in to the shore. Turns out I was just over the rock from the rookery. Ya gotta' know yer dive site!!

 

[scottie3030]

We got Grey and Common seals i think! ive heard of divers playing hide n seek with them and they some times bite your fins! This one i seen was a big boy! Didnt fancy dancing with him much!

 

[foxfish]

There was a thread about one of our members accidentally shooting a sea loin a few weeks ago. I made a post on that thread but I cant find it anymore Maybe it was removed?

 

[scottie3030]

im sure shooting them would piss them off

 

[ocean_314]

Well in northern calif if you are diving and see a seal or sea lion run err swim like hell. They are lunch for a very big very toothy shark called Mr. White.

 

[gman]

When I was in Northern California seals where everywhere all the time. If you did not want to dive with seals in the water, you did not dive. I was younger and dumber and we were very cavalier about it all. Our motto was "You won't see the one that gets you, so don't worry about it". Of course that was before kids and family and responsibilities. Nowadays freshwater diving is seeming more and more attractive to me.... It is amazing how attitudes change with age.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I am amused, but frustrated, by articles in the general press that say we should avoid swimming with seals if we want to avoid being lunch for a great white shark. A professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, on the central California coast, was killed by a great white a year or two ago while taking her regular morning swim, and the "experts" were quoted as saying she was swimming with seals, and should not have been doing that.

I cannot recall a single dive trip when I did not see seals or sea lions from the boat before I got in, and I see them underwater more often than not. If I didn't dive with seals, I wouldn't dive.

 

[gman]

That incident was at one of the beaches my family and i swim at. You just cannot get "away" from the seals unless you get away from the ocean.

 

[ocean_314]

A few year ago a guy that i knew was killed by a great white up here by Ft. Bragg. He to said the same thing, i always dive with seals and never had a problem.
We warned him and his buddy many times that they where risking death but... now his buddy listens to advice.

 

[gman]

Ft. Bragg is awesome!! I used to make occasional trips to Ft. Bragg and Sea Ranch. How often do you get in the water when there are no seals around? Or do you just avoid when the pups are about???

 

[Bruin]

I lived in SLO for a few years, and from what I have heard the teacher (who was not a Cal Poly professor to the best of my knowledge, but rather a professor at John Hancock or another JC) made it a habit to go out to Avila Beach and swim with seals on a regular basis. I have never personally had a problem with seals/sea lions, but I also wouldnt advise pretending to be one.

 

[saltfreemermaid]

Hi there,

I have scuba dived regularly with grey seals in Wales for years now, with no problems. (You would be pretty lucky to see a common seal around the UK, as they are actually pretty rare!) Seals, in my limited experience, are usually cautiously interested in divers. They keep their distance, but will swim by, and take a look at you...

I recently took up freediving, and this year, for the first time, I dived with a pair of grey seals, with no bubbles!

It was awesome! One of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! :inlove

The seals were really intrigued by my mono fin, and I spent a couple of hours playing with them. They would mimic what I was doing, dived when I did, did rolls and summersaults with me. If I finned along on my back, they would swim above me, almost face to face ! One of them came up to me, and blew bubbles out his nose at me ! (which made me laugh, so I had to come up!).

I was exhausted in the end, trying to keep up with them, and got the impression that they were showing off, and making fun of my pathetic attempts to stay underwater! rofl

When I finned on my back, back to the boat, they were swimming along side me, and underneath me. When I was about 10 metres away from the boat, they surfaced, and seemed to look me straight in the eye, face to face, from about 1 metre away. The other (scuba) divers in the boat were amazed at how close they were to me.

It was an amazing experience, and if you ever get the chance to do it……

However… I WOULD avoid them in September and October… that’s when they pup, and breed, and they may not be quite so sociable !!

 

[Waterysmile]

That is just awesome, Mandy, I want to have experiences like that!

Where roughly were you swimming?

 

[fcallagy]

Hi Mandy,
Sounds like a great experiance but I thought seals blowing bubbles was meant as a sign of aggression but I might be wrong.

 

[Waterysmile]

In the Tanya Streeter programme the seals or sealions, I can't remember which, blew bubbles towards her face as a game, it seems. She didn't seem alarmed.

 

[fcallagy]

Maybe thats it Andrew I'm not sure. I have seen seals a good few times as I am getting suited up but they seem to leg it as soon as I hit the water.