Four California teens challenged the cruise ship industry in their home city and won. But locals are angry over the loss of revenue over banning the ships.
For the past few years, cruise ships have been banned from Monterey in California. This was thanks to four teens who campaigned local officials to ban cruise ships from the town. They were concerned about the environmental impact on the ecosystem on the waterfront. They believed the giant ships and also tourists on board had a negative impact on the environment.
City officials listened, effectively banning cruise ships from the bay. But with the loss of tourism, comes the loss of money. Local businesses have been feeling the effect over the past few years since the cruise ships went away.
"When the cruise ships are here business is great," Chris Shake, owner of Old Fisherman's Grotto restaurant, told Daily Mail. "Our business no doubt doubles - that is a fact. 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."
There's been no cruise ships in the bay in two years. Shake said passengers used to spend $125 on average at local businesses. A survey showed that more than half of the locals supported the return of cruise ships to the area.
Cruise Ship Industry
Dominic Mercurio, owner of Cafe Fina at the wharf, told the outlet that environmental damage was grossly overestimated. He pointed to the fact that fishermen still use the waters.
"There were accidental diesel spills and giant tar pits at the end of the wharf to protect the fishing nets," he said. "Stuff was spilled, fish were dumped. 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. When this got turned into a sanctuary, it was handed to them on a silver platter - it was pristine when they got it."
City council terminated cruise ships in 2023. 15-year-old Aliya Denton founded Protect Monterey Bay. The group petitioned the city council and got cruise ships banned. She also explained her reasoning.
She said, "We all grew up in Monterey and ever since we were kids we were always at the beach. 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 added, "We really feel that in the city of Monterey there wasn't really an economic impact since the cruise ships have stopped coming."
