A Central Coast man has been charged with shooting and killing Northern Elephant Seal. 30 year-old Jordan Gerbich reportedly shot the seal in the head on a beach near San Simeon in September of 2019. He then reportedly left the corpse on the beach. Not only are Northern Elephant Seals a Federally Protected Species, but the shooting took place within the boundaries of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Northern Elephant Seals spend most of their life at sea, only coming ashore twice a year in their rookeries (2 of which are near San Simeon and Ano Nuevo).
If convicted, Gerbich faces a maximum sentence of 1 year in a federal prison.
