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Environmental Etiquette Tips

The best time to be at the tidepools is 30 to 60 minutes before the predicted low tide. When you go to the tidepools go all the way out with the tide and then work your way back in. The birds are often seen feeding when the tide is going out at a marsh or sandy beach.

When is a good low tide? Newspapers on the coast usually carry the tide tables with the weather. Predicted tides of 1.0 or lower are usually good for exploring the tidepools. Many sporting goods stores have free tide guides.

Plan ahead. Wear sturdy, nonskid shoes and dress in layers when exploring the tidepools. For a wetland, boots or old tennis shoes work well.

Take a partner. You can take turns with your partner watching the waves and exploring.

Don't turn your back to the waves. Be alert and keep an eye on the water. Watch to avoid becoming stranded as the incoming tide surrounds the area. Be aware of the incoming tide.

Watch where you put your feet. Try not to walk on animals and plants that live on the rocks and in the tidepools. Seaweeds growing on rocks can be dangerously slippery. Animals and plants in the marsh are easily disturbed. Try to view from a distance, staying on a path, rather than going directly into the wetland.

Touch animals gently with wet hands. Most tidepool animals have a coating of slime to protect them. Dry hands can damage the animals. Use other senses including listening for the sounds of the area and smelling the scents.

Leave animals, rocks and shells as you found them. Changing the habitat of tidepool animals and plants or moving them to new surroundings can injure or kill them. If you look under a rock return it to how and where you found it. These organisms are alive and adapted to a very specific environment. Make drawings or take photos rather than taking samples from the area of study.

Organisms in tidepools are protected by law. Taking them home with you is illegal and will kill the animals. The Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge tidepools, like all tidepool areas in California, are a protected environment. The California Department of Fish and Game enforces these regulations.

Leave natural habitats cleaner than you found them. Pick up any refuse or debris you find and dispose of it properly.

Alternatives to tidepooling. In order to reduce the impact on these complex and vulnerable systems, and to avoid having to schedule field trips around low tides, consider doing the following instead: study sand samples from the outer and inner beaches, do a tideline scavenger hunt along the shore, conduct current and wave observations, do a bird survey, walk through the coastal park and make comparisons of the different habitats, or do a beach clean-up.

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