In this Southern California town, residents are grappling with the fear that their way of life may be fleeting. Fishermen cast their lines from the long, wooden pier. “Every day here feels like the most perfect summer day,” Mercedes Murray, 38, said as she lounged at Buccaneer Beach, a spot popular among locals. Where residents once played beach volleyball at Buccaneer, there are now berms of natural cobblestones that clatter around in the surf like pennies in a washing machine. Visitors who could once sprawl on wide stretches of sand near the pier must now compete for space on a narrow stretch studded with rocks.

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Persons: ” Mercedes Murray Organizations: Fishermen, Buccaneer Locations: Southern California, Oceanside, San Diego, Buccaneer