Tribes, Council Laud Sea Lion Decision; Humane Society Mulls Options 

Columbia Basin Bulletin

March 21, 2008  

Fish advocates say a plan to lethally remove California sea lions from base of the Columbia River 's Bonneville Dam is a reasoned approach for reducing the predatory marine mammals' impacts on returning salmon and steelhead that are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Critics say it merely diverts the blame, making scapegoats of the pinnipeds for weakened salmon runs that are caused in huge part by harvest, habitat degradation, the basin's hydro control of the river system and other human-caused disruptions of the ecosystem.

NOAA Fisheries Service announced Tuesday that it had approved an application from the states of Idaho , Oregon and Montana to remove as many as 85 California sea lions annually by trapping the animals, or shooting them, in specific areas below the dam. The federal agency estimates that only about 30 animals will be removed each year, given the conditions in its authorization.

State and federal biologists estimate that sea lions ate at least 4 percent of returning salmon and steelhead spawners attempting Bonneville during the spring of 2007 -- nearly 3,900 fish. The actual number is likely much higher, since researchers tallied only tallied fish kills that could be seen by observers atop the dam.

That's up from an estimated half a percent just six years ago, according to NOAA. Few sea lions swam the 145 miles upstream historically but their numbers swelled during those six years to as many as 100 during April and May when spring chinook salmon, including Upper Columbia and Snake River stocks that are listed under the Endangered Species Act, make their spawning run.

The NOAA announcement drew strong praise came from leaders of the Columbia River treaty tribes, who depend on the fish for ceremonial and subsistence purposes, and for income.

"NOAA has made the right decision at the right time," said Fidelia Andy, chairwoman of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Yakama Nation tribal member. "The salmon need relief and the public deserves remedy to this serious problem. We recognize the strong sentiment and emotions on all sides of this matter. We ask for the public's patience and support, while management activities proceed."

The decision concludes a 19-month Marine Mammal Protection Act Section 120 process that included diverse stakeholder participation and public comment opportunities. As part of the MMPA's requirements, NOAA convened a special scientific task force last fall to make recommendations about the states' request. Nearly all task force members said last November that the federal agency should grant the states' request. NOAA released a draft proposal for public comment in January that included as one of its four alternatives the action approved this week.

"The tribes are pleased to see an effective management tool added to solve this very complex problem" said Olney Patt, Jr. CRITFC's executive director. "NOAA has laid out very clear criteria. Our desire is to maximize the benefits to endangered salmon while minimizing the impacts to the overall sea lion population."

NOAA's decision is available, in its entirety, on their website:

http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Marine-Mammals/Seals-and-Sea-Lions/Sec-120-Authority.cfm

The Portland-based CRITFC is the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management policies of four Columbia River Basin treaty tribes: the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The lone dissenter on that 18-member task force was Sharon Young of the Humane Society of the United States . She said this week that her organization still questioned the wisdom of the states "proposing a death sentence for sea lions for eating 4 percent of the run" while at the same time planning fisheries that will far exceed that total.

"The claim that sea lions must die to protect salmon is entirely bogus, and more than a little disingenuous," said John Balzar, HSUS senior vice president of communications. "If the government really thought salmon are so critically imperiled that we need to start slaughtering their natural predators, they wouldn't allow fishermen to catch three times more fish than sea lions are eating."

The organization said the real threats are from loss of quality spawning habitat and dams blocking their normal migratory routes up river. It cites NOAA estimates that the Federal Columbia River Power System kills 16.8 percent of adult Snake River basin steelhead and 59.9 percent of juveniles.

The MMPA's Section 120 lethal removal provision has been used only once previously when in 1995 the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife received provisional approval to kill sea lions at Seattle 's Ballard Locks. A federal court denied an attempt by the HSUS and several other organizations to stop that action. Three sea lions were sent to Sea World – a likely destination for some of the animals trapped on the Columbia -- but none were euthanized.

"We're still trying to review the documents" to decide "what, if any, course of action we might take," said Young, the HSUS' field director on marine issues.

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., has long pursued remedies for the sea lion-salmon interaction.

"With the spring salmon runs only weeks away, it is critical to implement this plan quickly to help prevent sea lions from devouring endangered salmon," Hastings said in response to the announcement. "It has taken over two years to reach this point, and I am hopeful that this effort is able to move forward without getting blocked by lawsuits."

The male California sea lions north from their breeding grounds off the Southern California coast in search of food. The first this year was seen at Bonneville Jan. 10 but their numbers did not start to grow until the end of February. The highest number seen on any one day was 17 on March 17. They are right on cue, as numbers of chinook in the river are also climbing. Normally peak spring chinook passage at Bonneville is late April.

Hastings and Congressman Brian Baird, D-Wash., have authored legislation that would expedite the MMPA process for the states of Washington and Oregon and the four Columbia River treaty tribes to obtain permits for the lethal removal of a limited number of California sea lions preying on salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River .

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council said it supports the decision as well. The Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program funds millions of dollars in projects intended to restore salmon runs and provide fisheries. The program is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration is mitigation for federal Columbia-Snake river hydro system impacts on fish and wildlife.

"Lethal removal of specific predatory sea lions, in conjunction with non-lethal deterrence actions by the states of Oregon and Washington and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, will help reduce the impact of sea lions on threatened and endangered species of salmon and steelhead in the area downstream of Bonneville Dam," NPCC Chairman Bill Booth of Idaho said in a statement released Tuesday. The Council is made up of two members each appointed by the governors of Idaho , Montana , Oregon and Washington .

"The decision also is scientifically sound, carefully developed through a public process, and worthy of public support as a means of protecting Columbia River salmon and steelhead and the region's substantial investment in their recovery," Booth said. "The Council's support for the decision is consistent with the Council's mandate in the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin that have been affected by hydropower dams.

"Through the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council supports efforts to reduce the impacts of all predation on salmon and steelhead, including predation by marine mammals and fish-eating birds," Booth said.

The state application submitted in December 2006 cited the time and effort being expended to preserve species of extraordinary cultural and economic value.

"The people of the Northwest have supported restoration efforts, and borne the costs, because of the importance of salmon to our heritage, the cultural value to Native Americans, and the economic value of salmon to our fishing communities," according to the application.

It stressed that its proposed lethal removal of animals -- one percent of the 1 percent of the "potential biological removal" level annually -- would not affect the status of a robust California sea lion population.

The current PBR as estimated by NOAA for this population of California sea lions is 8,511. PBR level represents the maximum number of animals, not including natural mortalities, that may be removed from a marine mammal stock while allowing that stock to reach or maintain "optimal sustainable population" for the habitat available.

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