By Gerard M. Capriulo Sharks in our waters...and elephant seals,
sea otters & more Gerard M. Capriulo, Ph.D. When I came to
California in 1997 to join the faculty of Saint Mary’s College,
I was amazed at the accessibility to — and preservation of — the
wild, biologically rich and beautiful Pacific Coast. It was in
marked contrast to my East Coast experiences of very limited
access to mostly privately owned shoreline. Public access to
pristine shores is one of California’s great hallmarks and
blessings, made possible to a large extent by the tireless work
of the California Coastal Commission. The cornucopia of life
forms and biological production in California’s coastal ocean
waters fuel a robust marine food web leading up to the marine
mammals and predator sharks that claim our waters as their home.
But just how and why does this cornucopia exist; why is there so
much biological production? It starts just south of Monterey,
surrounds, embraces and spills north past San Francisco and the
Golden Gate Bridge, th