ecause we’re a pet (read: “animal”) column, we’re reminded of John Godfrey Saxe’s notable poem, “The Blind Men and the Elephant,” when we consider the breakwater reconfiguration project. The poem metaphorically describes every situation in which more than one educated person attempts to solve any problem, be it health care reform or a bridezilla wedding. Six blind men “to learning much inclined” went to “see” an elephant, and each accurately described a different part of the beast as being the whole.

Last July, we attended a presentation by the mayor and city council that covered the reconnaissance, or information-gathering, phase of the breakwater reconfiguration study. The study is in place to determine if the federal government—specifically the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)—has an interest in an actual study of the breakwater and to answer questions from the Long Beach community. (Visit this link for complete and ongoing information.)

Alternatives and perspectives bobbed around like flotsam on the waves we no longer have: sink a section, move a section, remove a section, divert the L.A. River flow because most of the crap in the water comes from our good upstream neighbors anyway, do absolutely nothing. It’ll improve the benthic (region at lowest level of a body of water) habitat. It’ll destroy the ecosystem. It’ll create a newer and more improved ecosystem. It’ll upset the mollusks. The waves will be an economic stimulus and an environmental fix. The waves will wash away peninsula homes as if they were sandcastles.

“It’s a very complex environment,” Long Beach government affairs manager Tom Modica told us in a near understatement. “It may bring waves, ecosystem—lots of changes. The next step is to be an in-depth study of everything, including wildlife, from feral cats to barnacles, categorizing everything that’s out there.”

Who lives—we wondered—in the breakwater? We had some idea, but we decided to see for ourselves: rent a boat, snorkel among the rocks, take a few photos. But that proved expensive, near impossible and plumb scary. Moreover, neither of us owns an underwater camera. So, we did what everyone else without time, funds or bravado does: We watched a video.

Our Main Library at 101 Pacific Ave. in the Long Beach Civic Center, which itself has of late experienced being underwater, has an impressive video in its collection. The Long Beach Breakwater Study shows what’s in and around the underwater reef. At all its levels, the breakwater, like our city, teems with diverse life, from the starfish on the sandy bottom to the brown pelicans nesting on the rocky reefs. Sea lions sun themselves on the rocks; mussels cling to them; terns, cormorants and oyster catchers seek shelter there, all hiding, breeding and feeding. Feral cats were mentioned as well, but it’s questionable as to whether they live that far from shore. As feral advocate and rescuer Antje Hunt put it, “What did they do, swim out there?”

It’s all very idyllic, but the structure is human made and may also be human reconfigured in the future. The breakwater actually ends in Long Beach; it starts at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro (pictured at right). If the USACE approves any removal or reconfiguration, the birds, beasts and barnacles will be subject to conditions similar to those of residents who moved to doublewides at a mobile-home park only to find that, decades later, the lease on the land was up. Fortunately, there are advocates for some of the more mobile residents: the Long Beach Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation says that the kelp and beach habitats that result from the sinking will result in healthy species proliferation.

“We’re proposing to lower the [Long Beach section of] the breakwater 20 feet below sea level,” said chapter chair Emiko K. Innes. “By making the existing breakwater into a rocky reef habitat, we’ll get an economic benefit and a healthier ecosystem.”

Innes said that the reef would replace the sandy bottom area, which is all sediment, and that other species such as rockfish would be attracted to it. The kelp would grow more abundantly and, given a decent flushing system (Innes agrees that most of the pollutants come from upriver), the cloudy water would clear up, making diving more enjoyable. Innes told us that the organization also wants to ensure that the federally protected brown pelicans and other seabirds that nest in the rocks won’t have to seek temporary housing. The least terns, she said, prefer nesting on the shore, but the pelicans, who lay their eggs on rocks, would with the Surfriders’ proposal have the hard rocks replaced on the shores or oil islands.

Modica agreed that the habitat on the breakwater needs to be taken into account, and his hope was to replace and enhance it as well. “If you take down a section, you’ll create another habitat,” he said. However, Tom Murray, who owns Pacific Sporting Goods near Belmont Shore, sees a different side of the elephant.

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Murray said. “It doesn’t make any sense. Long Beach’s harbor is one of the cleanest in the world.”

Despite concerns over the pollution coming from upland through the river, Murray said that testing done in the water shows improvement. Murray was in fact one of the divers and producers of The Long Beach Breakwater Study. He’s dived there for decades and notes the number of breakwater residents who swim, fly or hang on there, from splash zone to sandy bottom: seals, sea lions, birds, plume worms, soft coral, sponges and kelp—the “fastest-growing plant in the world.” Murray said that a breakwater reconfiguration would cause a problem with sand buildup, more erosion on the peninsula and a destruction of habitat, both human and animal.

“I’ll admit that the tests are better, and that there is improvement in harbor water quality, but more needs to be done to make it healthy for people to swim in on a reliable basis,” said Mike Schaadt, executive director of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, coincidentally located near the spot where the breakwater starts (and which is not under study for reconfiguration). Schaadt said that testing waters have gotten more complex and precise over time; the water quality, he said, may have been much worse, but we didn’t have testing available to signify this.

Schaadt spent over an hour talking with us about breakwater life (he’s a diver, too, and frequently spends his lunch hour underwater grazing with sea stars and their fan worms). He’s also familiar with the history of the breakwater and reminded us that, like the structure, the pollution from both upriver and down is made by humans. The current standards for water cleanliness, he said, are based on the improved tests, which can identify more pollutants that affect the health of living creatures, both on land and in the sea, but that population growth in Orange and Los Angeles Counties is a challenge to new systems implemented to limit human-related ocean pollution.

Schaadt agreed that taking the breakwater down would create more waves and circulation in Long Beach; without it, currents would sweep out the rivers from upland. He touched on poisons such as DDT dumped into the water and also said that when the breakwater was built, there were fewer people here, and the salt marshes could “recycle” the garbage in the water. Now, he said, the marshes are 90 percent gone. Worse, with asphalt and cement added to the paths, there’s much less natural detoxification, and the waste from millions of people all goes into the ocean.

“This is why we’re so dirty,” Schaadt said.

Schaadt guided us through the aquarium’s interactive habitat exhibits (Crawl-in Aquarium and Mud Walkthrough—what could be more fun?) and the Aquatic Nursery. The nursery is actually a working and teaching laboratory, and we admired the critters flourishing in it and the work done to keep them so. Which brought up the mobile home park idea again: Where will the tenants go?

“If they move the rocks, the animals [that live primarily in and on them] will probably die,” Schaadt said. “But, the same thing happens when a storm comes in. The natural world is considered to be a safe world, but that is not the case. And what we’ve done with the natural world is not good.

“But,” he continued, looking at Judy’s distressed face [disclaimer of sorts: Kate still eats some species of fish], “it’s hard for us to separate our feelings for living things. If the breakwater is removed, some will live, and some will die. Some will colonize elsewhere—these creatures are very good at colonization. They’ll go to other parts of the ocean. Life will find a way.”

The birds and sea lions, Schaadt said, most likely won’t appreciate the removal of the rocks, but they don’t rely on them as their permanent residence and will also go elsewhere. The Surfriders’ solution of the creating a hard-rock resting place for the pelicans would most likely be amenable to the state bird.

“If you build it, they will come,” Schaadt said of the breakwater, and this undoubtedly also goes for the “bed rock.”

Even with the collateral damage, it’s always good to take a step back, be it pier or pachyderm.

“A healthy perspective helps you understand the natural world better,” Schaadt said.

Odd mermaid species

Pet Projects

Reminder: Wheely Willy’s Memorial Service
There will be a Memorial Service to celebrate the life of Wheely Willy, the spirited little Chihuahua that passed away on December 22, 2009. Tuesday, Tuesday, January 19, 12:00-2:00pm, Memorial Garden at Long Beach Animal Care Services, P.D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 E. Spring St. Long Beach, CA 90815