In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: ‘Officials now say sea lions weren't shot to death in Oregon’
Background: Declining salmon populations and rising seal numbers
Opinion & Analysis: For and against the sea lion reduction measures
Related Links: Struggling fish populations and the delisting of the gray wolf
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Unsolved Sea Lion Death Spotlights Fight over Salmon
by
findingDulcinea Staff
by Josh Katz
The controversy surrounding the deaths of six federally protected sea lions on May 4 has taken a new turn. Federal officials now claim the sea lions were not shot to death, as originally believed.
The controversy surrounding the deaths of six federally protected sea lions on May 4 has taken a new turn. Federal officials now claim the sea lions were not shot to death, as originally believed.
30-Second Summary
Initially, officials indicated human involvement was to blame for the deaths. But a preliminary necropsy "found no evidence of recent gunshot wounds," according to the Associated Press. Wildlife enforcement officer Mark Oswell said human involvement is still a possibility, but heat exhaustion or panic could also be feasible.
"The necropsy results showed shallow puncture wounds in one animal consistent with sea lion bite marks, and X-rays found metal fragments in soft tissue near the neck of two animals," the Associated Press reports.
On May 4, the sea lions were found dead near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. A day earlier, three elephant seals were discovered shot to death at a central California breeding ground, and authorities are searching for any possible connections between the two cases.
The unlawful killing of the sea lions comes amid a legal battle over a controversial federal policy to allow such killings.
Sea lion populations have been growing in the Pacific Northwest since the Marine Mammal Protection Act went into effect in 1972. Meanwhile, salmon populations have become endangered in the area.
Sea lions feed on salmon, and fishermen and American Indian tribes have lobbied to cut down the number of sea lions to protect the salmon. In March, “The National Marine Fisheries Service granted permission to [Oregon and Washington] to target as many as 85 sea lions a year near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River,” Reuters reported.
The Humane Society of the United States has stood in opposition to any authorization to kill the sea lions, however, and the question has been brought to the courts. At the end of April an appeals court issued a temporary injunction against the killing of the sea lions while the matter is sorted out. Since then, state agents have been trapping the sea lions instead.
In the recent killings, the sea lions were found dead in the closed traps.
"The necropsy results showed shallow puncture wounds in one animal consistent with sea lion bite marks, and X-rays found metal fragments in soft tissue near the neck of two animals," the Associated Press reports.
On May 4, the sea lions were found dead near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. A day earlier, three elephant seals were discovered shot to death at a central California breeding ground, and authorities are searching for any possible connections between the two cases.
The unlawful killing of the sea lions comes amid a legal battle over a controversial federal policy to allow such killings.
Sea lion populations have been growing in the Pacific Northwest since the Marine Mammal Protection Act went into effect in 1972. Meanwhile, salmon populations have become endangered in the area.
Sea lions feed on salmon, and fishermen and American Indian tribes have lobbied to cut down the number of sea lions to protect the salmon. In March, “The National Marine Fisheries Service granted permission to [Oregon and Washington] to target as many as 85 sea lions a year near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River,” Reuters reported.
The Humane Society of the United States has stood in opposition to any authorization to kill the sea lions, however, and the question has been brought to the courts. At the end of April an appeals court issued a temporary injunction against the killing of the sea lions while the matter is sorted out. Since then, state agents have been trapping the sea lions instead.
In the recent killings, the sea lions were found dead in the closed traps.
Headline Link: ‘Officials now say sea lions weren't shot to death in Oregon’
The sea lions found dead last week in the northwest United States were not shot as previously believed, federal officials say. "Mark Oswell, a wildlife enforcement officer for the service in Silver Spring, Md., said Wednesday that human involvement still cannot be ruled out and said dehydration, heat exhaustion or panic could have been factors," the Associated Press reports.
Source: Associated Press
On May 5, 2008 the Associated Press reported on the six deaths. “We’re really shocked,” said Sharon Young, a Humane Society spokeswoman, in regard to the sea lion killings. “We’re a nation of laws, and we should expect people to abide by them.”
Source: MSNBC
Background: Declining salmon populations and rising seal numbers
An April 16, 2007, article from Tacoma, Wash.’s The News Tribune explores the issue of killing the sea lions to protect the salmon when it first came to the fore last year. Written about 35 years after the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 went into effect, the article states, “Now an estimated 300,000 California sea lions inhabit the Pacific, breeding on the islands off Southern California and chasing the food supply as far north as Puget Sound.”
Source: The News Tribune
On March 19, Reuters reported that The National Marine Fisheries Service granted Washington and Oregon permission to kill 85 sea lions a year near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. The sea lions may be killed only if they are seen feasting on salmon between January 1 and May 31, and only if no zoo or aquarium will take them in after the sea lions are trapped for 48 hours. They could be killed on the spot “if the animals are not easily captured.”
Source: Reuters
Opinion & Analysis: For and against the sea lion reduction measures
In The Seattle Times, John Balzar argues that, “Killing sea lions will not save the salmon, but will—in fact—make things worse by wasting valuable time.” When a sea lion is killed, another sea lion will simply replace it, he says. In addition, “sea lions eat just 4 percent of the chinooks that pass Bonneville,” Balzar writes.
Source: The Seattle Times
The Colombian, of Washington state, claims, “it is time to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy with the sea lions by pursuing various forms of harassment.” The newspaper allows that killing the sea lions may not fix the problem, but, “Given that sea lions are not an endangered species and the fish are, it’s worth a try.”
Source: The Colombian
Related Links: Struggling fish populations and the delisting of the gray wolf
An April 9 article from findingDulcinea examined how the booming residential growth around Washington, D.C. and the construction of a highway is threatening a creek rich in fish populations.
Source: findingDulcinea
A Feb. 28 article from findingDulcinea reported on a study demonstrating the long-term adverse effects estrogen from pollutants can have on fish populations. “The pollution killed many fish and disrupted reproduction in others. The sperm count of male minnows fell, with some even beginning to produce eggs in their testes,” according to Science Daily.
Source: findingDulcinea
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service took gray wolves off of the endangered species list on March 28, following calls from ranchers that the rising wolf populations were feasting on their livestock. Environmentalist groups are now suing the federal government to place the wolves back on the list so hunters do not push the wolves back to the brink of extinction.
Source: findingDulcinea
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