DANA POINT : Center Gives Close Look at Ocean Life

Like a dog scheming to have its back scratched, the pancake-shaped halibut laid quietly on its side as Doheny State Beach employee Elaine Murray stroked its scaly body.

“You should see it beg for her to pet it,” said a young female park volunteer standing near the tide pool. “It sticks its head near the surface and makes kissy fish lip faces.”

Visitors aren’t allowed to play with the sea creatures at the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Center, but here they can get an unusually close look at the rich, colorful life of an ocean tide pool.

The indoor tide pool is the centerpiece of the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Center. Its purpose: to teach the public the value of preserving the ocean.

“Here they can learn what’s left in California’s tide pools and what they can do to preserve what’s left of them,” said Park Ranger Jim Serpa. “With 13 million people living less than an hour’s drive from Southern California coasts, there’s been a lot of damage done” in recent years.

The tide pool is stocked with an artist’s palette of vividly colored marine life--bright purple sea urchins, orange starfish, green sea anemone and the occasional small shark and moray eel.

The interpretive center is one of several supported by the state beach system.

State officials hope that educating beach-goers will help reduce the damage incurred to the shoreline marine environment.

This year, programs at the center have been doubled, from three to six per week.

Local wildlife experts were brought in weekly for campfire chats to Doheny State Beach visitors.

Then there are the indoor tide pool and aquariums, where Murray provides daily instruction on treating the environment gently.

The aquariums are set up to represent local marine scenes, such as the bottom of a pier, complete with discarded fish line and soft drink bottles.

According to Murray’s list of tide pool etiquette:

* Replace rocks exactly where they are found, even if one is accidentally kicked over. Small marine life often use them for shelter.

* Never take anything out of a tide pool, living or dead. “Human beings are the No. 1 predator of tide pool starfish,” Murray said.

* Don’t leave trash. “The critters sometimes think its something to eat,” Murray said. “For example, a plastic bag can look like a jellyfish to some of them.”

* Try not to handle tide pool life, but if you do, handle with extreme care. The acids on human fingertips “actually burn the skin of a sea cucumber,” Murray said.

Although several hundred people pass through the center on a busy summer day, it remains somewhat of a secret, sitting just south of the busy Dana Point Marina.

“I didn’t know about this place until I was hired,” said Murray, who has lived in Dana Point since 1969.

The center is located in a modest, one-story building next to the guard kiosk at the park gate. Entrance fees aren’t required for those visiting the tide pool and gift shop.

Hours during the summer are 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., seven days a week.