In 1997, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) produced an
Environmental Assessment which proposed measures to reduce
predation of salmonids by California sea lions at the
Willamette Falls fish passage facility in Oregon. These
agencies are concerned about the potential effects of sea lion
predation on declining populations of native spring chinook
salmon and winter steelhead in this area.
However, the data show that these runs were seriously
declining prior to the occurrence of sea lion predation. Also,
some fish runs that were not observed to be preyed upon by sea
lions have declined even more dramatically than those observed
to be preyed upon by sea lions. Consequently, The HSUS does not
believe that sea lions are responsible for this decline.
The proposed measures include capturing and relocating sea
lions from the Willamette River to downstream in the Columbia
River or in Oregon coastal waters. Other measures include the
use of underwater firecrackers and acoustic deterrent devices.
The HSUS disagrees with the NMFS and ODFW that these measures
can be deemed "non-lethal" because capture and translocation of
sea lions is always a risky procedure. Also, the risk of
physical trauma, in the form of hearing loss or other injury,
has not been determined for these devices. Furthermore, it is
likely that this effort will fail. Previous efforts to relocate
sea lions have proven unsuccessful because sea lions frequently
return to the site of capture.
Removing sea lions is not only unjustifiable, dangerous, and
highly subject to failure; it is also hazardous for the fish.
The real causes of these depleted fish runs (such as hatchery
fish competition, fish passage problems due to faulty
construction and operation of the fishway, and habitat
degradation) will continue to be largely overlooked as long as
precious resources are wasted on what are, at most, only
symptoms of a serious problem threatening fish populations
worldwide.
Read The HSUS's
comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment.
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