Hunting Washington Forum
Community => Advocacy, Agencies, Access => Topic started by: bearpaw on June 08, 2012, 12:20:56 PM
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Rise in sea lion shootings sparks federal investigation
http://tdn.com/news/local/rise-in-sea-lion-shootings-sparks-federal-investigation/article_87c84120-b100-11e1-a272-0019bb2963f4.html
By Barbara LaBoe / The Daily News | Posted: Thursday, June 7, 2012 10:30 pm | (6) Comments
ASTORIA — For Stu Ford of Kansas, the sea lions here are magnificent — worth checking out even in Thursday morning's driving rain storm.
"I absolutely love them," Ford said from the East Mooring Basin marina as his son and a young friend exclaimed about the animals' size and distinctive bark.
Locals who fish or work near the docks, though, call them a menace.
"They take your fish right off your hook," said Len Self who runs a professional guide service out of Astoria and has had numerous run-ins with sea lions.
That frustration — and a dramatic increase in fatal sea lion shootings in recent months — has lead to a federal investigation officials announced this week.
Over the past two months about 20 sea lions have been killed, primarily with guns, according to the Northern Oregon-Southern Washington Marine Mammal Stranding Network. That's four times the normal number of expected deaths. Most were found at the mouth of the Columbia River or within a few miles to the north or south.
The increase is alarming enough to launch an investigation and a hotline about the shootings, said Sean Stanely, a special agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's law enforcement division.
"We have unusually high numbers of sea lions that have been shot to death," said Stanley, who also is working with Washington and Oregon state officials. "And this particular spate of deaths is under investigation by us as a group."
In addition to the more common California sea lion, some of the carcasses have belonged to Stellar sea lions, which carry an extra protection as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act. Shooters of California sea lions -- protected by the Marine Mammals Act -- face up to a year in prison and $20,000 fine. Penalties are even stiffer for killing a Stellar sea lion, Stanely said.
Some speculate that frustrated fishermen may taking matters into their own hands after sea lions interfere with their catch or threaten their boats.
Self said he's never shot at a sea lion, but he certainly understands the impulse.
"Kudos," he said when told of the shootings. "It's too bad more of them aren't shot."
"They break things all the time and two of them have tried to bite me, they came right up behind me," said marina worker Jose Delgado. He added he also spends a fair amount of time cleaning their waste off the docks.
"I don't want them shot, but they're trouble," he said.
Some also speculate that the federal program authorizing the killing of sea lions threatening salmon runs at Oregon's Bonneville Dam may lead others to think it's okay to kill the large mammals. The practice has been in the news in recent years due to lawsuits aimed at stopping the killings.
"Maybe people have lost sight of the fact that these are still federally protected animals," said Jim Rice of Oregon State University and the Oregon Coast coordinator for the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Some sea lions are shot every year, but Rice said he's particularly worried about the increase.
"It's alarming," he said. "It seems people are stepping up their antagonism toward the animal."
"They're dangerous," said a sturgeon fisher from Waldport who identified himself only by the name "Curly." "People are just fed up with them and probably sick of the government not doing anything," he said.
Stanely said NOAA investigators are not making any assumptions this early in the probe.
"We want to cast the net as wide as possible," he said. "Whether it's one person or a group of people, we don't want to limit who we look at or where it might have taken place."
Stanely said the agency's immediate need is to gather more information about the deaths, including any possible witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call the investigation hotline at 1-800-853-1964.
Ford and other tourists checking out the sea lions Thursday said they hope the shooters are caught soon.
"It's just tragic," Ford said. "Totally irresponsible."
Kay Soderberg, from Wyoming, couldn't fathom why anyone would harm the sea lions.
"That's just terrible," she said while snapping photos of the animals. "I just love the wildlife out here."
Read more: http://tdn.com/news/local/rise-in-sea-lion-shootings-sparks-federal-investigation/article_87c84120-b100-11e1-a272-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1xENqaLdh
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HOLD THE PHONE!!! When did NOAA get a LE Division?! Pretty soon the audobon society is gonna get one too!
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I think NOAA has military staff even.
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In other news; most sportfishermen are grinning with delight over the raft of dead carcasses floating out to sea.
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Lots of NOAA people were navy at some point.... Sea-lions are protected for PC reasons having nothing to do with their numbers... Just another species that are protected just because... Just like hawks and cormorants. :twocents:
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I bet the fish are happier now! hehehe
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I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars will now be spent on forensics to catch these horrible, despicable, and heartless sea lion murderers. I'm guessing upwards to half a million at least if not more.
If the feds and state had handled this problem properly from the beginning, there wouldn't be sea lion poachers handling it for them. I disagree with poaching. I also disagree with blanket protection for all marine mammals, regardless of how large their populations are. Responsible harvest should be allowed for sea lions and healthy whale populations.
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I hope its natives, exercising their rights to save the salmonid population from the idiot whites that have their heads up their ass.
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Sounds like the state lost 20 opportunities to collect tag fees. :dunno: For the price of a box of shells someone saved the state 2 million in trap and euthanizing fees.
Now mind you I don't condon poaching, but sealion management has been one of the biggest jokes in the state! We pour millions of dollars at conservation for salmon and sturgeon etc. only to find our efforts in the mouths of veracious predators. I just don't want this to cause a backlash on legal removal of these cherry pickin predators.
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I hope its natives, exercising their rights to save the salmonid population from the idiot whites that have their heads up their ass.
:tup:
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"It's alarming," he said. "It seems people are stepping up their antagonism toward the animal."
And every time they cut the sturgeon season back by 30% it will continue to increase.
They have known about a huge sturgeon poaching ring going on for years yet budget cutbacks, lack of field officers etc. keep them from effectively putting a stop to it. Now 20 sealions die and all of a sudden we have a federal investigation with federal officers involved. Seems to me their priorities are in the wrong place.................again!
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In other news; most sportfishermen are grinning with delight over the raft of dead carcasses floating out to sea.
I hope its natives, exercising their rights to save the salmonid population from the idiot whites that have their heads up their ass.
"It's alarming," he said. "It seems people are stepping up their antagonism toward the animal."
And every time they cut the sturgeon season back by 30% it will continue to increase.
They have known about a huge sturgeon poaching ring going on for years yet budget cutbacks, lack of field officers etc. keep them from effectively putting a stop to it. Now 20 sealions die and all of a sudden we have a federal investigation with federal officers involved. Seems to me their priorities are in the wrong place.................again!
:yeah: :yeah: :yeah:
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Seems to me their priorities are in the wrong place.................again!
No Kidding! PROTECT the predator. From Humans to .....
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Sounds like the state lost 20 opportunities to collect tag fees. :dunno: For the price of a box of shells someone saved the state 2 million in trap and euthanizing fees.
Now mind you I don't condon poaching, but sealion management has been one of the biggest jokes in the state! We pour millions of dollars at conservation for salmon and sturgeon etc. only to find our efforts in the mouths of veracious predators. I just don't want this to cause a backlash on legal removal of these cherry pickin predators.
This is a great example of the State doing all the wrong things right... I think the state does this kind of stuff to create a false/fake problem to solve... If they keep us in EMERGENCY mode then its easier for them to manipulate us... :twocents: They can have their fishing , 2pole endorsements and all kinds of other crap they come up with!
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They can have their fishing , 2pole endorsements and all kinds of other crap they come up with!
No kidding, did any of you see the *asterisk* next to the 2 pole endorsement rules? I don't remember seeeing one saying, "With this extra fee you can fish with two poles in these areas, ****Except when we decide we don't want you using them in these areas after you have paid for it.****" :chuckle:
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This is a great example of the State doing all the wrong things right...
Well said :tup:
There are too many sealions, not enough sturgeon or salmon so what again is the solution? Ah....spend time looking to find the people who wrongfully are taking matters into their own hands but feel they are doing the "right" thing that WDFW can't or just will not do.
I understand there are things that are under federal protection, but I would like to see WDFW voicing concerns to the Federal gov't on how to fix instead of the typical "our hands are tied" excuses.
I hope we get a good new governor with a new wildlife commisson that gets it.
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This is a great example of the State doing all the wrong things right...
Well said :tup:
There are too many sealions, not enough sturgeon or salmon so what again is the solution? Ah....spend time looking to find the people who wrongfully are taking matters into their own hands but feel they are doing the "right" thing that WDFW can't or just will not do.
I understand there are things that are under federal protection, but I would like to see WDFW voicing concerns to the Federal gov't on how to fix instead of the typical "our hands are tied" excuses.
I hope we get a good new governor with a new wildlife commisson that gets it.
Not that the DFW always manages predators the way it should ( :chuckle: :chuckle:), but this is pretty much out of their hands as long as the failed Marine Mammals Protection Act stands unchanged. With wildlife concerns covered under federal law, the federal gobmint (read USFWS) always either dictates policy or asks the states for management plans and then either accepts or rejects them, as with the horrible wolf plan. With the Marine Mammal Protection Act, we, as a state, have very little leeway unless we're willing to do what WY did with the feds on the wolf plan, and tell them to go pound sand. Our DFW doesn't have the intestinal fortitude or the hunter/fisher-based mentality to deal with this on their own. They don't want the bad press and they don't want to ruffle anyone's feather, especially those of Queen Christine. And she's the biggest obstacle to responsible predator management in our state, through her appointments and her whiney liberal leadership.
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"It's alarming," he said. "It seems people are stepping up their antagonism toward the animal."
And every time they cut the sturgeon season back by 30% it will continue to increase.
They have known about a huge sturgeon poaching ring going on for years yet budget cutbacks, lack of field officers etc. keep them from effectively putting a stop to it. Now 20 sealions die and all of a sudden we have a federal investigation with federal officers involved. Seems to me their priorities are in the wrong place.................again!
Simply amazing isn't it how backwards some things are?