Fisherman's Wharf - James Bay

The ducks get a specialized meal plan but the seals get nothing.

Is this one of those things that they'll sting people out of the blue for every now and then and let go for the rest of the time?

I guess it is:

http://www.timescolo...harf-1.15086823

I guess Sammy is going to starve now. He's probably forgotten how to catch his own dinner.

The Marina has been selling bags of "seal food" for years. I'd say that amounts to sanctioning and encouraging the practice.

The Marina has been selling bags of "seal food" for years. I'd say that amounts to sanctioning and encouraging the practice.

2005:

People feed the seals at marinas where there are fish-cleaning tables, said Paike. Seals get used to boats coming in and wait for the entrails to be flung into the water.

 

But the practice was actively promoted at the Oak Bay Marina, which has been selling little packets of herring as "seal food."

After an officer visited the Oak Bay Marina last Tuesday, the "Seal Food" sign was taken off the herring-filled freezer in the gift shop.

During the past two weeks, hundreds of people flocked to the marina after a Times Colonist feature suggested feeding the seals as a March break activity. One fuel attendant, who didn't want his name published, said he spent the whole March break cutting up seal food.

The fuel attendant thinks there should be a regulation prohibiting "stupid humans" from hand-feeding the seals.

 

"They also like to put food on the rails and watch the seals come up and take it off the rails. But if they get a tooth caught or chipped or broken, it's pretty much a death sentence for them."

 

People get bitten by the seals at the marina two or three times a year, he said. Two weeks ago, a woman was standing on the dock with a piece of herring in her glove. A seal popped out of the water, grabbed the herring and took her glove with it.

 

http://www.animaladv...md=read;id=4849

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frvwGmxMUQs

I guess Sammy is going to starve now. He's probably forgotten how to catch his own dinner.

The seals will be fine. During the off season and inclement weather, there are few visitors purchasing plates of herring tail to feed the seals. The Fish Store is also closed for a month over the winter. During these periods, the seals go elsewhere to feed. 

The seals will be fine. During the off season and inclement weather, there are few visitors purchasing plates of herring tail to feed the seals. The Fish Store is also closed for a month over the winter. During these periods, the seals go elsewhere to feed. 

Is it not like there is a shortage of seals in any event. 

2005:

 

http://www.animaladv...md=read;id=4849

Definitely purchased seal food after 2005 (and, yes, I felt guilty about doing it).

And never mind losing a glove to a seal. Remember the five-year-old pulled off a West Vancouver wharf by a seal?

I notice that this CBC story about that incident includes a photo of the dock at Oak Bay Marina with a sign telling people to drop the food into the water when they feed the seals. That's from 2009.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...xperts-1.778882

I notice that this CBC story about that incident includes a photo of the dock at Oak Bay Marina with a sign telling people to drop the food into the water when they feed the seals. That's from 2009.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...xperts-1.778882

Not sure if it's the exact same sign, but when I was out there a couple weeks ago there was signage basically saying the exact same thing. Not to hand feed the seals.

I think the Fish Store at fisherman's wharf will go out of business.  They must make most of their profit off selling those herring.

I've brought my own freshly caught herring to feed the seals, and was told off by the Fish Store. 

They told me they control how much the seals eat each day by only selling so much herring.  I think they just want to protect their profit.

I still fed the seals, when they are full they will stop eating.

 

Definitely purchased seal food after 2005...

I suspect this is going to end up being one of those things that we all just imagined doing. That's why the authorities are stressing that whole fake news thing, because we all need to be diligent about revising our faulty recollections.

Now feeding the seals will be something the kids aren't allowed to do. Like the All Fun Go Karts. Only a matter of time before the Hells Angels get into the black market herring business.

They can always take up feeding the bears and the cougars.

Don't feed them. The park has had signs up for years asking people not to feed the ducks. It's unhealthy for the ducks and attracts vermin.

Feeding the Beacon Hill ducks to bears and cougars is going to be unhealthy for the ducks in most cases, no argument. But calling the people who do it "vermin" seems a bit harsh.

Unless I'm misunderstanding the entirety of your post.