Lobsters and Cruise Ships: It’s Fall in Santa Barbara

Yes, it’s fall, and that means lobster season has now officially started. Even Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams bagged 10 bugs in two dives before commercial cultivation began in earnest. It’s also cruise ship season with the Celebrity Eclipse showing up off the Harbor this Monday, the MS Regatta Tuesday, and the Seaborn Venture on Wednesday. By fall’s end, there will have been 13. That will bring the year’s total to 23. 

Simmering behind the scenes is growing concern about the greenhouse-gas emissions generated by cruise ships and a coalition of environmental organizations are preparing to take their case to the Harbor Commission sometime this fall to restrict admissions to ships availing themselves of the best available technology. According to the Air Pollution Control District, the greenhouse-gas emissions from one cruise ship in the harbor are 2.5 times greater than the emissions produced by 1,325 cars driving the 200 miles to and from Los Angeles. That assumes that there are two passengers per car. A typical cruise ship carries 2,650 passengers.

According to Waterfront Director Mike Wiltshire, the Cruise Ship Subcommittee has been meeting the past 18 months looking for ways to improve the program, but no recommendations have been released. Wiltshire added that a new economic study on the impacts of cruise-ship tourism is now underway and should be released in November. Two prior studies — one in 2013 and another in 2016 — concluded that cruise ships generated an addition $2.4 million and $3.9 million, respectively. Wiltshire noted that the Waterfront Department collects $500,000 annually in fees collected directly from the cruise ships.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the greenhouse-gas emissions from one cruise ship in the harbor is equivalent to the emissions produced by 1,325 cars driving the 200 miles to and from Los Angeles. One cruise ships produces 2.5 times the amount of emissions.