From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

It is nonsense to spend more money on fish hatcheries and fish
ladders just to have these fat predators sitting at the
chock-points eating all the salmon.

from https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2025/12/sea-lions-keep-eating-the-salmon-in-the-columbia-river-some-lawmakers-want-to-kill-more-of-them.html

Sea lions keep eating the salmon in the Columbia River. Some lawmakers
want to kill more of them

Updated: Dec. 08, 2025, 7:00 a.m.|Published: Dec. 07, 2025, 3:32 p.m.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission hazes sea lions
A congressional hearing focused on efforts to kill sea lions on the
lower Columbia River, where the pinnipeds are feasting on endangered salmon.LC- The Oregonian

By Jamie Hale | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Pacific Northwest sea lions got the spotlight in a Congressional hearing
last week.

The U.S. House of RepresentativesrCO Committee on Natural Resources spent nearly two and a half hours Wednesday debating the long-standing issue
of the Columbia River sea lions, who are known to feast on the salmon
that swim down and upriver.

It wasnrCOt great news for the sea lions, as the debate centered primarily around how best to kill the pinnipeds.

The hearing featured testimony from Aja DeCoteau, executive director of
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fishing Commission, who urged the
committee to expand efforts to remove the animals and research the
problem, The Columbian reported.

rCLHistorically, our elders remember an occasional sea lion reaching
Celilo Falls,rCY DeCoteau said at the hearing. rCLHowever, these occurrences were rare. Now, a combination of hydro-system infrastructure, changing environmental conditions and the success of the Marine Mammal Protection
Act has resulted in unprecedented numbers of sea lions in the Columbia River.rCY

For years, state wildlife managers have sought ways to keep sea lions
from gobbling up salmon. Exclusion gates have been installed at the
entrances to fish ladders. Sea lions have been hazed with underwater explosives and firecracker shells fired from shotguns. Agencies have
tried using fake orcas and arm-flailing inflatables. Animals that have
been trapped and relocated, driven hundreds of miles and released into
the ocean, have returned upriver within days.

In 2008, Oregon was given permission to kill some of the sea lions,
though officials were required to capture and brand individual animals,
and catch them in the act of consuming salmon, before they could euthanize.

The frustrated efforts led to a 2020 federal law that permitted Oregon, Washington and Idaho, as well as some tribes, to bypass the 1972 Marine
Mammal Protection Act, allowing them to trap and kill up to 540
California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions from the Columbia River
and its tributaries.

In the five years since, only 230 total sea lions have been killed.

While the 2020 federal permit to kill the sea lions was renewed without controversy this September, extending the law through 2030, lawmakers
are now examining how effective the legislative efforts have actually been.

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Anglers revive fight over Columbia River barbless hook policy

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat who represents WashingtonrCOs 3rd Congressional District, which runs along the lower Columbia River, sat
in on the Congressional committee Wednesday, asking why more sea lions havenrCOt been killed.

rCLAsk yourself, why are these numbers so small?rCY she said.

Gluesenkamp Perez argued the removal process is arduous and expensive, estimating the cost of removing one sea lion at $38,000, or roughly $203
per salmon saved.

She recommended expanding the reach of the permits and suggested a
process that would allow local fisherman and tribal members to bid on
permits to assist with sea lion killings.

rCLI have seen and heard firsthand how much work goes into managing sea
lion populations and preserving local fisheries,rCY she added. rCLAs the
name implies, sea lions are a species that belong in the sea, not in our rivers.rCY

Larry Phillips, policy director for the American Sportfishing
Association, who also testified before the committee Wednesday, said he thought people would rCLline uprCY to participate in sea lion removals.

rCLI also think that we need to be really careful, make sure werCOre
investing in good science to monitor the outcomes of any type of
programs that we implement or decide to implement, and thatrCOs that
clearly is going to be the foundation of how we move forward,rCY Phillips said. rCLBut you know, I would certainly support being creative and coming
up with unique ideas.rCY

Killing sea lions in the Pacific Northwest has long been a contentious
issue. A 2023 video of a fishing boat repeatedly charging large groups
of sea lions demonstrated the animosity many fishers feel toward sea
lions, though it shocked even fellow anglers, who condemned the act of aggression toward the animals.

Jamie Hale
Jamie Hale is the outdoors and travel reporter for The
Oregonian/OregonLive, helping guide Pacific Northwest travelers to the regionrCOs best trails, towns and attractions. Jamie also co-hosts the
Peak Northwest...more

jhale@oregonian.com

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