With the spring salmon run right around the corner, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has granted the states of Washington and Oregon the authority to lethally remove certain sea lions that feast on endangered salmon that migrate from the Pacific Ocean back to the Columbia River and pass through Bonneville Dam.  I’m hopeful that this plan can be implemented quickly without getting derailed by lawsuits that would threaten our ability to help protect this year’s spring run. 

Under NOAA’s plan, the states of Washington and Oregon would be able to lethally remove up to 85 sea lions in and around Bonneville Dam each year for five years if certain conditions are met. For example, the sea lions must be individually identifiable as habitually preying on endangered fish before they can be lethally removed.  And, non-lethal deterrents must be proven ineffective in each case. 

Congressman Hastings with Congressman Brian Baird and Inter-Tribal Chairwoman and Yakama Tribal Councilwoman Fidelia Andy, working together to prevent sea lion predation. 

The states first applied to the federal government for the authority to lethally remove the most aggressive sea lions in 2006.  It’s taken two years to get through the approval process – that’s simply too long considering that Northwest residents spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to protect endangered fish.    

That’s why Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) and I are working together on a bill we authored that would give states and tribes immediate authority to manage the sea lion problem, while ensuring that any sea lion removal is targeted and doesn’t effect the stability of the overall sea lion population.  This approach represents a needed and balanced response to the urgent problem of increasingly aggressive sea lion predation we witness each year. 

Just a decade ago, one or two sea lions might be seen below Bonneville Dam in the spring.  Today, it’s commonplace to see nearly a hundred.  Thousands of salmon are eaten each year by California sea lions in the immediate area around Bonneville Dam alone, to say nothing about the numbers consumed elsewhere in the river.  The government estimates that sea lions consume at least 4 percent of migrating salmon each year, but some biologists put the number as high 9 to 14 percent.  This is an unacceptably high amount.

Our region is working hard to restore salmon runs in the Columbia River.  We are making substantial investments in what amounts to the largest endangered species program in the world.  We know that there are many factors affecting salmon that should be addressed – but we cannot afford to continue ignoring the unchecked predation of salmon by sea lions.