For the crime of snacking on endangered salmon, dozens of sea lions have been sentenced to die.
The New York Times
May 15, 2011, 10:43 AM
By JOHN COLLINS RUDOLF
Salmon passing through the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam in Washington State.
On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had authorized state officials in Oregon and Washington to “lethally remove” a population of sea lions which for years have congregated just below the Bonneville Dam, about 150 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and gorged on salmon migrating upriver to spawn.
“This is not an easy decision for our agency to make, but a thorough analysis shows that a small number of California sea lions preying on salmon and steelhead are having a significant effect on the ability of the fish stocks to recover,” William W. Stelle Jr., the Northwest regional administrator for N.O.A.A.’s Fisheries Service, said in a statement.