Some Sea Lions May Die Over ESA-Salmon Diet

NW Fishletter #244, March 20, 2008

The federal government has given the go-ahead to kill up to 80 or so California sea lions that are expected to be munching through this spring's chinook run in the Columbia River . Oregon and Washington asked for permission to take the drastic step more than two years ago, after the marine mammals began taking increasing amounts of spring chinook near Bonneville Dam.

Last year, Corps of Engineers' biologists estimated the sea lions had consumed four percent of the run at the dams -- more than 3,000 spring chinook. Scientists expect they eat a lot more than that, since the mammals roam up and down the river below the dam. Some testimony at a Congressional hearing suggested their overall take could be four times as much.

With about one-third of the spring chinook run listed for protection under the ESA and the high costs of mitigating hydro effects, some policymakers felt enough was enough, pointing to the sea lion fiasco that occurred in Seattle in the 1990s. Federal and state bureaucrats dithered for years over increasing sea lion predation at the Ballard Locks while the marine mammals decimated a wild steelhead run that still hasn't recovered.

Several Northwest politicians tried to speed up the process to authorize lethal removal, but their proposed legislation to do an end run around the Marine Mammal Protection Act hasn't been successful.

The sea lions have been protected since the early 1970s, when Congress passed the MMPA and their numbers have grown into the hundreds of thousands since then.

But the lengthy process has proved even quicker than Congress. It began when a task force was convened to weigh alternatives after learning how ineffective hazing had been in the vicinity of the dam.

The task force voted 17-1 to support lethal removal, with a lone dissenting vote from a representative of the Humane Society.

Ten members of the task force preferred a lethal alternative aimed at reducing salmon predation to a rolling average of 1 percent within 6 years. Seven members preferred another lethal alternative that would have reduced predation 0.5 percent in the observation area below Bonneville Dam.

Before making their final decision, the feds reviewed the task force report and public comment, along with information from the Marine Mammal Commission. Then they developed a draft environmental assessment, which was released for public comment Jan. 18 and finalized Mar. 12.

The feds say the states may trap predatory sea lions and euthanize them after a 48-hour wait if a pre-approved permanent holding facility such as a zoo or aquarium is not available. They have already identified more than 60 sea lions that could be killed.

Other predatory sea lions could by shot at the dam if they are hauled out on the concrete structure or within 50 feet of it. The feds say a marksman must use a shotgun at close range, or a hunting rifle from greater distances, and "ammunition shall not contain lead."

Sea lion predation on salmon has been building in recent years. The feds say fish with scars from sea lions have increased from 11 percent in 1999 to 37 percent in 2005.

One sea lion, known as C 265, who has been in the neighborhood for the past five years, was trapped near Astoria last year, and weighed in at 559 pounds. After being radio-tagged and tracked -- the pinniped was down near Newport , Oregon in late March, but spent most of his time in April and May feeding on salmon at Bonneville -- he was trapped once again at Astoria May 21 and tipped the scales at 1,043 pounds. That's a gain of 484 pounds in two-and-a-half months.

After the decision was announced, the Humane Society said it was disappointed, especially since the states have agreed to boost harvest rates this spring in expectations of a huge run. Actually, the non-Indian harvesters will stick with the same 2-percent impact, but tribal harvesters get a boost to 10 percent, up from 8 percent last year, thanks to a sliding scale that increases harvest rates when expected runs become large.

"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 group has not decided whether it will sue to stop the action.

"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."

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) said with the spring salmon runs only weeks away, it was critical to implement this plan. "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."

A new forecast tool being developed by the University of Washington 's Columbia Basin Research group estimates this year's spring chinook run should reach its peak around April 22.

The following links were mentioned in this story:

Final Environmental Assessment, NMFS, Northwest Region, Mar. 12, 2008

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