Voracious sea lions invade Columbia River

[lokidog]

From Whacker1's article... "Marine Mammal Center, Mar 5, 2015: It’s clear these sea lions are trying to tell us something."

Yeah, they're trying to tell you "THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US, PLEASE LET US DIE!"   

[Roosevelt]

Should send the National Guard down there with some assault rifles and open up on those docks.  Makes me sick.   

[cm2cb4]

I'd drive to harvest one. Wonder if they taste good in tacos?

[winslow]

Are sea lions federally protected?

[Southpole]

I'd drive to harvest one. Wonder if they taste good in tacos?

Icky fishy tacos

[lokidog]

Are sea lions federally protected?

Yes, Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (I think this is the date) and probably others.

[TheHunt]

A few seals too, according to this recent photo:




http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/03/hungry_in_california_pinnipeds.html
"But even when the smelt are gone, an estimated 312,600 adult spring chinook salmon are expected to provide a continuing food source. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report in October showed a decrease in chinook salmon survival from 90 percent in 2010 to 55 percent in 2014. It compared the decrease in survival with a more than 670 percent increase in sea lion populations counted by Oregon wildlife officials in Astoria between March 15 and May 15 over the same years."

They look like maggots....

[buckhorn2]

I talked to a biologist at Cathalamet and he said they think the seals and sea lions are taking 45 per cent of the Columbia salmon run and maybe more and have been really eating the sturgeon at the dam now they are talking about letting the Indians shoot them at the dam but first have to learn how to catch them alive from the state first before they can shoot them. Then they just brand them and they move up to Westport to take over the docks.

[stevemiller]

THE USFWS should introduce some shark maybe some killer whales into the waters just outside of WA. then when they come over and start killing the seal and sea lion WDFW can say they didnt re introduce them into WA.  Then problem solved. 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

  loved the commentary though.

Why don't the Natives exercise there right to kill the seals and sea lions? I know there federally listed but so have been salmon and Natives continue to harvest the salmon. I would think the Natives would want them gone to help out there treaty fishing?

[stevemiller]

anything new to add to this story?I cant believe that this only made 1 page with some of the stupid threads we have had on here go 15 or more pages lol. 

[Tealer]

Google the sea lion defense brigade. A sub group of the sea Shepard clan. Looks of retard commentary on their Facebook page.

The only real hope is the tribal guys targeting them. Once they hunt one from a sled they will fear boat and the problem
Will cease.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stevemiller]

I hope the tribal members do as well Hope even more that the defenders try something stupid and finally get what they deserve.Lawsuits with no end. 

[wheels]

hope for oregon

[wheels]

Tribes could kill Columbia River sea lions under new bill: Oregon environment roundup
sea lion.jpg
A sea lion catches a salmon on the Columbia River just below the spillway at Bonneville Dam. (The Associated Press)
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Kelly House | The Oregonian/OregonLive By Kelly House | The Oregonian/OregonLive
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on January 28, 2015 at 8:07 AM, updated January 28, 2015 at 12:31 PM
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A new bill co-sponsored by Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader would address the growing number of sea lions congregating at Bonneville Dam by giving authorities more leeway to kill them.

The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., would change the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow tribal members to kill sea lions and harbor seals. Before resorting to bullets, the tribal members would first need to make several unsuccessful attempts to move the animals and receive training from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The bill has support from the Coastal Conservation Association, a fishing group, and the Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

“Our tribes are working hard to restore balance, wherever we can, in a highly altered and degraded river system,” said Paul Lumley, the group’s executive director. “The Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act are thoughtful laws that need to be reconciled with one another.”

Bonneville Dam creates a barrier for fish in the Columbia River, making it a lucrative feeding ground for the sea lions. Because many of the salmon they eat are endangered, it also creates a dilemma for fish and wildlife managers.

Fishery managers say the number of sea lions eating salmon at Bonneville Dam has increased since they first began showing up in 2002, forcing them to put more effort into relocating the animals. Last year, fish and wildlife officials in Washington and Oregon observed more than 600 sea lions in the lower Columbia River and killed dozens of them.

Currently, the Marine Mammal Protection Act allows only state officials to kill the animals, and only after multiple benchmarks are met.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that last year, sea lions and seals consumed nearly 45 percent of the salmon returns in the Columbia River and its tributaries.

-- Kelly House