People Pushing For Monterey Bay To Be "Whale Watching Capitol" | News

By Susanne Brunner - email

MONTEREY, Calif. – You've heard areas of the Central Coast called the "Artichoke and Garlic Capitol of the World," but how about adding the "Whale Watching Capital" to that list? 

"No one's really got that title, so we're going to try.  We're just so lucky, jump on a boat go out 45 minutes to an hour and you're right in Whale Country," said Dominic Mercurio, Restaurant Owner.

Dominic Mercurio is pushing to get the Monterey Bay more recognition.  The restaurant owner is writing an 82 page report for Governor Jerry Brown to endorse.  It lists the reasons Monterey Bay deserves the unclaimed title.

"The amount of species that come to Monterey Bay; It's weather permitting," said Mercurio.

"There are areas that have whales and terrific whale watching, but I don't know that there are other areas that have them all year long to the numbers that we have," said Chris Arcoleo, of Chris' Whale Watching Tours.

Chris Arcoleo should know, after taking thousands of you on whale watching trips every year since the 1970s.

"There's lots of krill, we've got the deep water canyon that brings up all the feed, all the anchovies, all the sardines, all the krill so they're here feeding," said Arcoleo.

These guys said giving the Monterey Bay this type of title is a win-win situation for everyone, especially in tough economic times.  It's an extra incentive to bring some extra foot traffic.

"What do they do when they get off the boat?  They want to eat, and they hit the clothing stores and the gift shops and they use fuel here and it brings schools from all over California," said Mercurio.

We reached out to Governor Brown's Office for comment, but haven't heard back.