NOAA

California sea lions.

By Sharon Young 

California sea lions are taking the blame—unfairly—for the decline of endangered salmon and steelhead populations in the rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

Washington, Oregon and Idaho asked the National Marine Fisheries Service in December 2006 for approval to kill more than 80 sea lions annually to aid the recovery of fish populations. The request is pending.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have also attempted to make it easier to kill sea lions with little public oversight. In the 109th Congress, four lawmakers from the Pacific Northwest introduced a bill to do just that (H.R. 6241), but the initiative died before coming up for a committee vote. There is a possibility the legislation could be reintroduced this year.

The Real Problems: Fishing, Dams and Development

Government officials estimate that sea lions eat a little more than 3 percent of the fish runs in the Columbia River—fewer than eaten by birds. A Wall Street Journal investigation in the fall of 2006 found that fishermen take up to 50 percent of the salmon and steelhead, often to sell to restaurants.  

A century ago, salmon and steelhead populations had already started to decline as a result of fishing, farming, logging and mining that led to pollution and silt destroying the once pristine river habitat. 

The construction of large dams on the rivers in the 1930s and 1940s only accelerated the decline. The Columbia River alone has 13 dams on its main stream and hundreds more on its tributaries. This once vital river basin is a symbol of all we have done to degrade salmon habitat and block the safe passage of adults swimming upstream and their offspring swimming back to sea.

In contrast, Alaska—where there are even more seals and sea lions eating salmon—is not suffering the same decline in fish populations because the rivers in Alaska are still wild and clear. The decline of salmon in the Pacific Northwest is a result of what we have done to the rivers.

Scapegoating Is No Solution

Government managers are balking at addressing the complex issues of fishery management, the diversion of water for human use, the dams that block the river and the water quality that is compromised by runoff from agriculture, forestry and mining practices. 

The HSUS repeatedly has pointed out to the National Marine Fisheries Service that the information used in the states' application to kill sea lions is limited and flawed. The proposal made by the states in December places greater emphasis on killing sea lions than it does on solving the real problems facing the fish, many of which still lack comprehensive recovery plans. 

Killing sea lions will not save the salmon and steelhead. Sea lions and fish existed in balance for millennia until over-fishing and habitat destruction caused steep declines in fish populations.

Sharon Young is marine issues field director at The HSUS.