In September 2014, Melin and her team, along with veterinary staff from The Marine Mammal Center, visited the sea lion rookeries on the Channel Islands,
a primary breeding area, to assess the pups born three months prior.
In the warm Pacific waters just a handful of miles off its western coast, humpback whales breach and frolic in an
area that has long been a
primary breeding ground for 30 different species of cetaceans.