By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
What is one of the most important rules of Beach Etiquette 101?
Share the sand, right?
That applies to both humans and marine life visiting the beaches.
Sea Isle City is reinforcing that message with new signs emphasizing that seals need their space on the beach, too.
“The city’s always eager to spread environmental awareness. The signs play into the important topic that people should know that we do have wildlife and how they should react if we see a seal,” Sea Isle spokeswoman Katherine Custer said in an interview Monday.
The signs greet beachgoers at six locations across the island: 29th Street, John F. Kennedy Boulevard, 44th Street, 75th Street, 85th Street and 92nd Street.
“Give Seals Space,” they say in bold letters above a picture of a gray seal lounging on the beach.
Beachgoers are urged to stay at least 150 feet away from the seals if they are walking their dogs, taking photos or video or are simply enjoying the shore.
To remind people to keep their distance, the signs include the image of a pair of binoculars and the words, “Share the Shore.”
The signs were donated to Sea Isle by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine and are sponsored by the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is the nonprofit organization that rescues seals, turtles and other sea life at the shore. On its Facebook page, the center is reminding people to remember their “seal etiquette” when they are out on the beach.
If disturbed, seals can deliver a painful bite and may transmit diseases to dogs and humans that can make them extremely sick, the center says.
New Jersey’s coast is in the middle of seal season. It is not uncommon at this time of year to see seals lying on the beach while taking a rest. Still others may be sick or injured.
“Seals rest on our beaches. Stay back and give them space,” the signs say.
Beachgoers are urged to report sightings of sick, injured or dead seals to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center at (609) 266-0538.
“As the only marine mammal hospital in the state, MMSC provides life-saving veterinary care to sick and injured seals, giving many a second chance at life in the wild. In situations where animals may not be released, every effort is made to secure a proper, enriching facility to provide lifetime care,” the center says on its Facebook page.
Seals aren’t the only type of wildlife protected in Sea Isle. Just as they have done in previous years, officials from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program are expected this spring to cordon off a section of the beach near the Townsends Inlet Bridge to protect the nesting areas of migratory shorebirds.
In the past, the restricted area has included a section of the beach adjacent to the east side of the bridge. It also surrounded all of the dunes on the ocean side of Townsends Inlet. It is a nesting area for black skimmers, least terns and piping plovers.
Signs and ropes are usually erected to remind people not to enter the nesting areas and to keep their dogs on a leash.
Ropes and signs usually remain in place throughout most of the summer season. However, the length of time depends on which species of wildlife are seen in the nesting areas, Sea Isle announced in a 2022 press release when the NJDEP began protecting the migratory birds last year.
