Bill to make it easier to kill sea lions clears Senate hurdle

[Andy54Hawken]

Who is "Bill" and how is he going to make it easier to kill sea lions...?
Andy

 

[Pete F]

100 a year will not help anything. Open season and bounty for fins.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Who is "Bill" and how is he going to make it easier to kill sea lions...?
Andy

Kill Bill silly...

 

[Caveman Jim]

I agree, anything over an all out assault on these predators will do nothing significant for the survival of fish that is left!!!

Update!!!

Bipartisan Bill to Save Salmon On the Columbia and Willamette Rivers Headed to the President's Desk


The bipartisan Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, led by Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) in the House, passed out of Congress today and is headed to the President's desk to become law. The legislation gives tribal members and government fish managers the authority to remove sea lions from specific areas of the Columbia River system and its tributaries where they are posing the most harm to endangered salmon, steelhead and other native fish runs.

"This has been an issue that I have worked on since first coming to Congress. I want to thank everyone – Rep. Herrera Beutler, Senators Risch and Cantwell, and our states, tribes, and local communities – for the exceptional work to get this bill over the finish line this year," said Rep. Schrader. "In the last few years especially, we've seen a record number of sea lions in the Columbia River from Astoria to Bonneville Dam. Ratepayers and my constituents are paying hundreds of millions of dollars annually towards the largest mitigation program in the country for threatened and endangered salmon. These sea lions, whose population has become totally inconsistent with their historic range, have been undoing all of that work by feasting on the endangered species. Our legislation will provide a great step forward in eliminating this threat to our iconic Oregon salmon that are struggling to survive once and for all."

"Today's passage of our bill to control sea lions was a hard-fought victory – it's a personal victory for each of us who treasure our Northwest salmon runs and want to see them preserved for generations to come," said Rep. Herrera Beutler. "I'm grateful for the partnership of my colleague Kurt Schrader, and for Senators Risch and Cantwell for shepherding this through the Senate. I'm so pleased we are able to give Northwest fish managers this critical tool to help save our salmon and steelhead runs."

Historic recovery efforts of endangered salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River have been compromised by exponentially increasing sea lion predation in recent years. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), California sea lions have killed the largest proportion of spring Chinook salmon and steelhead this year than any year since 2011. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that at the current rate, the Willamette Winter Steelhead run faces a 90 percent chance of extinction if nothing changes.

This bipartisan legislation authorizes states and tribal members to lethally remove sea lions that are predating on endangered salmon, steelhead and other native fish species. The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act is supported by a broad spectrum of Northwest residents and organizations that include recreational fishermen represented by the Coastal Conservation Association, Tribes and the Oregon and Washington State Departments of Fish and Wildlife.

 

[Mikej]

I'll bet $10.00 that the bill as written DOES NOT happen. The peta freaks and those HSUS lunatics, and myriad other weirdo's, will crawl out from under their respective rocks and block any efforts to actually kill the fur bags properly.

I wish they'd set up snipers to pick 'em off. The fur bags, not the peta's. If those beasts got to witness, close up, their brethren being splattered they'd sure get the message a lot quicker. The fir bags, not the peta's.

 

[Sandaholic]

You guys are all just wildlife haters! They are adorable.....

 

[Caveman Jim]

I'll bet $10.00 that the bill as written DOES NOT happen. The peta freaks and those HSUS lunatics, and myriad other weirdo's, will crawl out from under their respective rocks and block any efforts to actually kill the fur bags properly.

I wish they'd set up snipers to pick 'em off. The fur bags, not the peta's. If those beasts got to witness, close up, their brethren being splattered they'd sure get the message a lot quicker. The fir bags, not the peta's.

I agree Mike, that's the grips that have been holding up every type of remedy to this problem.
The problem is people thinking that animals have more rights than humans.
I'm all for protecting the endangered species but these fur bags are not endangered anymore, in fact they are causing the demise of an endangered species!!!

 

[Sandaholic]

I agree Mike, that's the grips that have been holding up every type of remedy to this problem.
The problem is people thinking that animals have more rights than humans.
I'm all for protecting the endangered species but these fur bags are not endangered anymore, in fact they are causing the demise of an endangered species!!!

Indeed.

 

[coop44]

Wow, some harsh opinions in here. I say let peta catch them, neuter them and release them. Works with feral cats. That way we could have a gradual decline in numbers, back down to a sustainable level. No carcasses to shock the snowflakes flashed across the news. Also it would be more of a challenge to catch them, rather than shoot them. Let's face it, to the general public they look defenseless, in their eyes we might as well be buying pet store bunnies and using them for skeet shooting.

Hey, wait a minute, I think I just came up with a new shotgun sport.

 

[cigars]

I want a tag for a sea lion!

 

[CamoDeafie]

How bout actually effectively stopping the finning and killings of sharks all over the world.... I mean.... the top 5 predators that feed on sea lions and seals.... Sharks, killer whales, polar bears, humans and grizzlies...I don't know what else eat them?

and note, of these.... only 3 of them are considered "threatened/endangered" (grizzlies, sharks, polar bears)

I agree we need to manage the sea lions.... we have not had sightings of great whites up here, although I know there are the transient pods of orcas/killer whales following the grey whale and sea lion migrations... (if sea lions travel distances to winter/summer grounds? Doesn't seem like it in Oregon/Washington.....)

 

[Mikej]

Wow, some harsh opinions in here. I say let peta catch them, neuter them and release them. Works with feral cats. That way we could have a gradual decline in numbers, back down to a sustainable level. No carcasses to shock the snowflakes flashed across the news. Also it would be more of a challenge to catch them, rather than shoot them. Let's face it, to the general public they look defenseless, in their eyes we might as well be buying pet store bunnies and using them for skeet shooting.

Hey, wait a minute, I think I just came up with a new shotgun sport.

Feral cats don't live 20-30, and more, years. In that time the entire wild population of anadromous fish would be gone.

The great lakes have incredible runs of salmon and steelhead they got from???? Did you guess "The Great Northwest? Back there they kill the over populated cormorants though. Here we have a few folks that will haze cormorants off the estuaries when coho are smolts as their making their way to the sea. Can't kill em though.

We've seen the damage that those cormorants do. At Siltcoos Lake where we've spent a good bit of time. Those damned things will come in 100-200 members, and leapfrog across the lake eating everything that will fit in their peckers.

Then there's the massive islands that were built, in the Estuary, with dredge spoils from keeping the Columbia River navigable for ships that 1000s of fish eating birds nest on....

 

[coop44]

cormorants aren't cute at all. No chance to anthropomorphize them as much as sea lions. With their big wet eyes and struggles to move on land, the average snowflake sees them as defenseless. Whereas you and I both know they are minions of the devil, hell spawned beasts bent on destroying the earth.

 

[JedB]

There would be a lot more salmon if several of the under-utilized dams were breached and removed.

 

[teflon6string]

What do Columbia River salmon have in common with Osama bin Laden?

Life is good until the seals show up.

 

[Lexingtonuninc]

Who is "Bill" and how is he going to make it easier to kill sea lions...?
Andy

I'm "Bill", and you Andy, have my permission for easier kills....on seals and such........: )

 

[FatJake]

Until we address wastes like the link below, we should hold judgement on the sea lion.
Washington's Skokomish Tribe Salmon Harvests Cause Concern for Some

 

[American123]

California Sea Lions are causing damage to Orego and Washington Salmon runs. Dam California leave Washington and Oregon alone

 

[EPS]

Can Orcas be taught to hunt down and eat Sea Lions? Would they want to? Or would being that smart, would the killer whales just also switch to yummy sushi salmon?

Most orcas do eat sealions and seals .
It's just the one pod of whales in the Puget sound that only eat salmon.
All the other pods eat seals and sea lions.

 

[Capn Jack]

Let the indiabs hunt the sea lions instead of salmon. . Problem solved.

Like they wanted to hunt Whales?
They found out that was too dangerous.
Besides that, they don't taste all that good.