The legislation allows the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to approve permits for Washington, Oregon, and several area Indian tribes that streamline the removal process for a designated number of sea lions from a portion of the Columbia River and adjacent tributaries each year. In December 2018, the president signed into law legislation that gives state and tribal resource managers more flexibility to manage sea lion predation on Columbia River fish populations.
Seals and sea lions also consume salmon, steelhead, and other fish species in Washington's coastal waters and Puget Sound wildlife managers continue to assess populations and the impacts of predation in these areas as well, and explore potential deterrence measures. Under that new law, state and tribal fishery managers in summer 2020 received approval to expand their sea lion removal efforts -including removing Steller sea lions for the first time - on a portion of the Columbia River and tributaries. In response, Congress passed a new law in December 2018 to provide state and tribal resource managers greater flexibility to manage sea lions in future years. Since 2008, state wildlife managers have removed an average of 19 California sea lions a year.ĭespite these measures, the number of salmon and steelhead taken by sea lions below Bonneville Dam more than more than doubled between 20, as larger Steller sea lion began to take a higher toll. The federal authorization allows wildlife managers to euthanize sea lions that meet specific criteria, although the states have worked to place those animals in accredited zoos and aquariums whenever possible. In March 2008, Washington, Oregon and Idaho received federal authorization to remove California sea lions observed preying on salmon and steelhead below Bonneville Dam. After a multi-year effort to haze sea lions away from fish below the dam, NOAA Fisheries concluded that non-lethal measures, by themselves, were not sufficient to curb the growing levels of predation. The federal Marine Mammal Protection Act recognizes that predation by a growing sea lion population can jeopardize salmon and steelhead stocks at risk of extinction.
Male California sea lions in Astoria, Oregon. Monofilament recovery and recycling program.
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