The bark of sea lions echoes across the harbor as a weary trawler sounds a horn announcing its early morning catch while seagulls swirl overhead spying for easy pickings.
This is picture postcard perfect Monterey on the California coast, the city featured in John Steinbeck’s ‘Cannery Row’ – the district named for the sardine canning industry that has turned into a tourist attraction – and home to the world-renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium.
But this tranquil enclave, 120 miles south of San Francisco, has witnessed a truly epic David and Goliath clash after four local teenagers took on the mighty multi-billion dollar cruise ship industry.
At stake, say the youngsters who helm the Protect Monterey Bay non-profit, is the safety of the ‘beautiful’ environment and delicate ecosystem – with its protected marine sanctuary – which they believe could be forever damaged by giant vessels unloading sightseeing passengers for day excursions.
On the other side, frustrated business owners argue they have been financially impacted by regulations promoted by the teens and city officials that effectively banned cruise ships from the bay.
Prior to the ban, passengers with open wallets wishing to shake off their sea legs for a few hours would be ferried by tender to Fisherman’s Wharf, built by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company in 1870, to eat in local restaurants, shop in gift stores and take whale watching tours.
‘When the cruise ships are here business is great,’ Chris Shake, owner of Old Fisherman’s Grotto restaurant, tells DailyMail.com. ‘Our business no doubt doubles – that is a fact.
The four eco-warriors of Protect Monterey Bay (left to right) who spearheaded the ban on cruise ships: twins Hamish and Heidi Witten-Forsythe, 14, Taylor Adams and Aliya Denton, both 15
Tranquil Monterey Bay, 120 miles south of San Francisco, has witnessed an epic David and Goliath clash between local teens and the multi-billion dollar cruise ship industry
A huge humpback whale breaches in the waters off Monterey in Northern California where cows and their calves migrate annually through the deep waters along the coastline
‘Which means on a regular day of business everybody benefits. There’s more hours for employees to work – there’s more tips going to the tipped employees.
‘There’s no question it’s a great revenue stream to have.’
The last cruise passengers visited two years ago. Shake, 68, says before that before the ban the giant ships would ‘create a bit of excitement with people,’ adding that passengers who disembarked would spent on average $125 in local businesses.
Shake’s father took over the restaurant – Surf ‘n Turf costs $70, a bread bowl of clam chowder $24 – in the 1950s and the family has built a successful business, with other restaurants nearby.
His only child, realtor son Austin Shake, 28, has appeared on the Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles TV show but, says the father, is returning to his roots in Monterey to help run the family business.
In 2023, Shake commissioned a survey by Wallin Opinion Research which showed that 53.8 percent of locals support cruise ships visiting Monterey, population 29,000.
Meanwhile, Dominic Mercurio, 67, owner of Cafe Fina at the wharf, says the potential damage by cruise ships is vastly exaggerated.
He says fishermen in boats have worked the bay for generations without disturbing the environment.
‘There were accidental diesel spills and giant tar pits at the end of the wharf to protect the fishing nets,’ he tells DailyMail.com. ‘Stuff was spilled, fish were dumped.’
Like a lot of Italians seeking adventure and economic security, Mercurio’s father emigrated from Sicily to Monterey to fish sardines.
‘This place was beautiful, it was always taken care of by the people that live here and it’s not like the fishermen destroyed it and all the boats coming in now screwed it up,’ he says.
Respected restauranteur Chris Shake (pictured) says business ‘doubled’ when the cruise ships would bring passengers to Monterey
Prior to the ban, cruise ship passengers wanting to shake off their sea legs for a few hours would be ferried by tender to Fisherman’s Wharf
The city featured in John Steinbeck’s ‘Cannery Row’ – the district named for the sardine canning industry – which is now home to the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Massive cruise ships last anchored in the bay two years ago
‘When this got turned into a sanctuary, it was handed to them on a silver platter – it was pristine when they got it.’
Mercurio, born and raised in Monterey, opened his first restaurant at the wharf in 1981.
‘On a day like today it would be nice to have ten or 15 extra people in the restaurant. I used to get the cruise ship captains coming in here,’ he recalls.
‘It’s a shame that they did this. They said it’s because they discharge sewage. They don’t discharge sewage. They’re not going to do that here.
‘This is our life. We work all the time. We do everything we can to make the customer happy. It’s a perfect port for them to stop. It’s a perfect place to land the people. It’s a perfect anchorage.’
In 2023, the Monterey Herald reported that the city council voted 3-2 in favor of terminating passenger landing services used by the ships which, in turn, prevents the cruise ships from operating.
Colleen Talty, 33, a manager with the Monterey Bay Whale Watch, agrees that the disappearance of cruise ships has impacted many local businesses.
‘There was definitely a loss of business when cruise ships were banned here,’ she tells DailyMail.com ‘All the restaurants and the whole of Monterey city probably felt it.
‘We worked with different cruise lines directly. It definitely helped business. I’m sure they’re not dumping anything in the bay – that’s against the law in the U.S.’
Fisherman’s Wharf, a popular tourist attraction, was built by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company in 1870
Picture postcard perfect Monterey is an idyllic getaway for tourists
Critics insisted the hulking vessels were a blight to the world famous Monterey Bay and a serious threat to protected wildlife
In 2023, Monterey City council voted 3-2 in favor of terminating passenger landing services used by cruise ships which – effectively banning them from operating in the bay
Passionate protesters during a ‘paddle out’ (pictured in 2019) took a stand against the cruise ships
She says the ships brought people from different areas, adding, ‘and it was good to provide them with an education and the experience of seeing whales and dolphins in the wild.’
Talty has a master’s degree in marine biology and says she became passionate about sealife after watching Free Willy as a young girl and that the film ‘altered my whole life.’
She notes that cruise ships do bring extra noise to the bay which may impact sealife.
‘They’re obviously very large,’ she says of the vessels. ‘The animals may not be used to the excess noise.
‘There’s always the possibility that a boat that large may not see a whale in front of it and accidentally hit it.’
If cruise ships are allowed to return to Monterey Bay it should be with strict regulations in place, ‘so they slow down when they enter certain parts of the bay where whales are known to be.’
Aliya Denton, 15, is a leader of Protect Monterey Bay, the student group who took their campaign to protect the area to the council and won.
They countered the Cruise Lines International Association, who said the cruise season should carry on, citing the research showing passengers spent $125 on average every visit.
She tells DailyMail.com: ‘We all grew up in Monterey and ever since we were kids we were always at the beach.
Monterey Bay is brimming with with aquatic wildlife – including whales, dolphins and sealions and their pups – that typically thrive in the protected waters
The serenity of Monterey’s natural harbor attracts tourists from around the world
‘We all grew up in Monterey and ever since we were kids we were always at the beach,’ says local teen Aliya Denton
Fishermen have worked the waters of Monterey Bay for generations and still do today
‘We were taught from a young age that the Bay is a very important place to live and how lucky we are to live here. Our parents instilled that in our brains.
‘We could see the ships from our school. It’s so annoying. It feels so invasive.’
She adds, ‘We really feel that in the city of Monterey there wasn’t really an economic impact since the cruise ships have stopped coming.’
The city, she says, rakes in $3 billion a year from tourism with $1.25 million coming from the cruise industry ‘so it’s really just a small fraction – it’s not that big of a deal.’
Moreover, she adds, ‘The tourists that do buy stuff at the wharf, they’re just getting little clam chowder bowls. They’re not sitting down to actually eat. They’re just grabbing a bag of chips and leaving.’
She explains that there has been illegal dumping of dirty water (which includes sewage) by cruise ships in the past.
‘There is a legal amount of waste that cruise ships are allowed to dump into the ocean at a certain distance which is ridiculous to us,’ says Aliya.
‘It’s sad to us because these businesses rely on our bay being gorgeous. That’s what attracts tourists and they’re willing to risk cruise ships dumping in the bay – ruining it for a little bit of extra money.
‘That’s what really angers us.’
And Heidi Witten-Forsythe, 14, tells DailyMail.com, ‘Everyone that’s grown up here or has lived her a short time understands how important the ocean is to us and how we want to protect it and make sure cruise ships aren’t going to mess with that and ruin it for generations to come.
Dominic Mercurio, owner of Cafe Fina at Fisherman’s Wharf, says, ‘I used to get the cruise ship captains coming in here’
Colleen Talty of Monterey Bay Whale Watch developed a passion for the magnificent mammals after watching the 1993 film Free Willy as a young girl. She says cruise ships would be a danger to sea life if they were allowed to return
‘It’s really important to us and we want to make sure people can see it too in that same light.’
Twin brother Hamish says it’s ‘not right’ for cruise ships to use the bay and that they are more suited to larger ports.
‘When you look out from the playground you see the ocean, gorgeous view, the waves crashing, rocks – then you see this giant boat come in that blocks your view,’ comments Taylor Adams, 15.
Aliya’s father, Brian Denton, says cruise ship operators omit to tell passengers that ‘we’re going to glide onto a protected marine sanctuary so you can go get a postcard and a t-shirt.’
His daughter spoke at two open city council meetings arguing for the ban.
‘It was so scary being there and all these adults staring daggers at us with no compassion at all,’ says AIiya.
‘I’m happy how things turned out though.
‘I want to raise my kids here. I don’t want the bay to be all messed up when I’m an adult. I want my kids to be able to play in the ocean like I did when I was a kid.’
