[CINC] Grays in San Fran

[Deb4nb at aol.com]

Interesting short article re: gray whales in San Francisco
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Public told to stay away from gray whales

Justin Wiley, Chronicle Staff Writer 
Saturday, June 13, 2009   
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Kayakers, boaters and surfers should avoid a group of gray whales swimming 
less than a mile off the Pacifica coast, marine officials have warned




Three adult whales and two calves found the thriving feeding spot about a 
month ago. When word got out that the giant sea mammals were nearby, 
interested observers started paddling out to see them.  
Officials are now concerned that the spooked whales will abandon the calves 
or leave the feeding ground.  
The Marine Mammal Protection Act states that humans must stay at least 300 
feet from protected species like gray whales or face civil and criminal 
charges.  
"We are taking this opportunity to educate the public about the gray 
whales, their migration patterns and why they are here," said Amy Gubser, a youth 
surf instructor at Surf Camp Pacifica. 
Observers can safely watch the whales from a distance with binoculars or a 
spotting scope, said Mary Jane Shramm, a spokeswoman for the Gulf of the 
Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. "They are fantastic, but we need to let 
them be."  
Typically, gray whales feed on microscopic crustaceans in the Arctic seas. 
But global climate change has caused the numbers of those critters to 
plummet, forcing whales to seek out other feeding grounds. 
Researchers don't know what the whales have found so tasty in Pacifica. 
Tests are planned to see if the food may be contaminated because of nearby 
sewage outfalls, Shramm said in an e-mail. 
Federal regulatory agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Office of Law Enforcement have been notified about the 
situation, she said.  
E-mail Justin Wiley at _jwiley at sfchronicle.com_ 
(mailto:jwiley at sfchronicle.com) . 
This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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