{"id":549740,"date":"2026-03-20T20:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549740\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T20:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T20:37:14","slug":"crowds-flocking-to-sea-lions-at-nanaimos-neck-point-park-prompts-warning-from-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/549740\/","title":{"rendered":"Crowds flocking to sea lions at Nanaimo’s Neck Point Park prompts warning from city"},"content":{"rendered":"

The City of Nanaimo is reminding residents to stay at least 100 metres away from marine mammals or risk facing fines, after crowds gathered in several parks to see sea lions on shore.<\/p>\n

Over the past few days, groups of sea lions have gathered on shore in coastal areas like Neck Point Park and Pipers Lagoon Park, largely to prey on herring spawning runs.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, photos and videos have shown crowds forming around the marine mammals, which goes against federal wildlife regulations.<\/p>\n

\"\"People are seen getting too close to sea lions at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. (Submitted)\"\"People are seen getting too close to sea lions at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. (Submitted)\"\"People are seen getting too close to sea lions at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. (Submitted)<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the city posted a reminder that people must stay a minimum of 100 metres away from sea lions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not feed or interact with sea lions, this is very dangerous \u2013 they may bite and approaching them, trying to feed them or interact with them is a violation of the federal Marine Mammal regulations with a fine up to $100,000,\u201d said the city.<\/p>\n

If you see someone harassing a sea lion, the city asks that you call Fisheries and Oceans Canada<\/a> at 1-800-465-4336, email DFO at DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca<\/a>, or contact the Canadian Coast Guard via VHF Channel 16.<\/p>\n

The DFO website<\/a> notes that 100 metres is about the length of one football field, or 7.5 school buses.<\/p>\n

To avoid disturbing a marine mammal, the DFO recommends that you use binoculars to observe them from a safe distance, back a way slowly and cautiously if they appear agitated or disturbed, and stop fishing and hauling gear if you they are nearby in the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada\u2019s laws and regulations help ensure whales and marine mammals can still be enjoyed, but at a safe distance,\u201d reads the DFO website.<\/p>\n

\u201cApproaching marine mammals too quickly, coming too close or making too much noise can disturb, stress or even harm these wonderful creatures who call our waters home.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City of Nanaimo is reminding residents to stay at least 100 metres away from marine mammals or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-549740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}