Northwest lawmakers are urging legislation that would
permit state wildlife officials to kill sea lions that feast upon a
decreasing stock of steelhead at Seattle’s Ballard locks. Under the
bills, which would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act, states
could petition the federal government to kill non-threatened sea
mammals if they continue feeding on vulnerable fish, reports the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Jerry Pavletich, West Coast
representative for Trout Unlimited, says his group supports the
killing of sea lions because in nine years of monitoring steelhead
runs at the locks, the population has been halved each year. State
wildlife biologists say the sea lions consume up to 60 percent of
the run while their population grows each year by 10 percent. Rep.
Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who introduced the House bill, says it
“would enable us to make sure we don’t risk losing a species that
is in danger simply because it is not officially listed as
“endangered” or “threatened.” “””However, according to Joy
Belsky, staff ecologist for Oregon Natural Resources Council, the
damage done by sea lions is minor. What’s really killing fish is
logging, dams, grazing, mining and
hatcheries.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Sea lions slated for killing.
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