Lawmakers in Olympia have approved a memorial urging Congress to give states and tribes more flexibility to protect salmon runs from sea lion predation. John Sattgast reports from the state Capitol.
The memorial from Spokane Valley Republican Representative Rob Chase asks Congress to modernize federal law so states and tribes can better manage sea lions and seals that prey on endangered salmon. Chase says it’s a major problem.
“They actually kill half the salmon coming up and they don’t consume them, it’s just for sport or they like to eat the eggs and leave them.”
Supporters say Washington has invested billions restoring salmon habitat, but recovery efforts are undermined when growing numbers of sea lions consume large numbers of returning fish.
Republican Representative Kevin Waters, who lives near Bonneville Dam, says relocating sea lions has proven ineffective.
“These pinnipeds or sea lions, they come up to Bonneville Dam, they hang out, they trap them in an ethical way, they drive them or fly them back to California.”
And Waters says they just come back.
The memorial does not change state law but formally urges Congress to update the Marine Mammal Protection Act to give states and tribes more flexibility to protect salmon runs across Washington waters.
# # #