Indian leaders of the 19th Century knew that the white man had a problem living in balance with nature. Men like Chief Seattle saw the destruction of the great bison herds and voracious slaughter of other animals for fur and food. They foresaw their way of living in harmony with the earth and even their very existence would be the next victims of the white man's mindless consumption of her resources. West coast salmon appear to be meeting the same fate as the buffalo. Depleted salmon stocks, despite millions spent on recovery programs, are fading fast. There is much consternation in the Northwest about the declining runs which sees the salmon as its iconic emblem as well as a significant contributor to local economies. Its understandable that when a villain, other than man, in the salmon's sad story is found businessmen are quick to point fingers--and guns.California sea lions (zalophus californicus) are intelligent and resourceful predators. The collapsing marine food chain in the Pacific has encouraged them to seek out other sources of food. An enterprising few have entered the Columbia River and have found a veritable protein bonanza at the base of the Bonneville Dam. They are feasting on what remains of the spring Chinook salmon run milling before their first major man made obstacle. Fish and wildlife managers have tried a variety of methods to dissuade the protected mammals from eating the fish. None of the methods have succeeded. The current estimate is that sea lions consume about three to four thousand salmon. When salmon runs were numbered in the millions, that amount lost to natural predation could be tolerated. Not anymore. Salmon seasons have been curtailed because of crashing salmon populations. Expensive salmon restoration programs promise less than the 3% increase in adult Chinooks that are being consumed by sea lions. The states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Columbia basin tribes have asked the federal government permission to kill feeding sea lions. Sea lions have increased in number since 1972 when Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Salmon have always been prey for sea lions. Before European arrival there was a natural balance between prey and predator. Industrial man and his works have upset nature's scales and are bringing salmon to the brink of collapse, just as in the 19th century he nearly exterminated the bison. In an important decision, the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled that the government's plan for salmon recovery in the Northwest is little more than analytical legerdemain and therefore violates the Endangered Species Act. The appeals court upheld district court Judge James Redden who was presented with a biological opinion that considered the Columbia basin dams part of the environment since they existed before enactment of the Endangered Species Act. Returns of wild Chinook in the Snake river once exceeded 1.5 million fish or about half of the total Columbia basin salmon run. Even in the late sixties and seventies after the lower Snake river dams went up, salmon returns often exceeded 60,000. Last year only 17,000 exhausted fish made it pass Lower Granite Dam. The Appeals Court called the government's approach to recovery a "slow slide to oblivion" for salmon.
We should give both the sea lions and the salmon a brake by being honest with ourselves. Our endless demands have exhausted a once mighty natural system. Killing sea lions might make some frustrated managers feel better, but it will not solve the problem. Perhaps the easiest solution is to allow more water over the dams or even remove some dams in order to help the salmon migrate successfully. But of course, governments and business interests want their salmon and electricity too. Its a lot less painful to shoot the sea lions.
Weekend Update: An angry fisherman shot a federally protected sea lion twice in the head after it took a hooked salmon from his fishing line on Wednesday. The incident, which is a federal crime punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines, occurred in the Willamette River. The polluted urban river joins the Columbia River approximately eighty miles from the sea. The sea lion was not killed outright. It was found later in serious pain and distress. One guide said that several sea lions are killed each year by frustrated anglers. "They shouldn't be here", he observed. "They are sea lions, not river lions." It seems not only sea lions are hungry for fish.