Contact: Brian Gorman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/28/97
Rapidly growing populations of California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals on the West Coast can harm salmon stocks, especially those fish listed or proposed to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service said in a draft report to Congress today.
Although not the primary cause for the salmon's decline, both seals and sea lions are known to eat fish from these stocks, especially at areas of restricted passage, like river mouths and dams, and this may prevent or delay the salmon's recovery.
In addition, the fisheries service report said, sea lions and harbor seals and their expanding distribution are interfering with commercial and sport fishing and damaging private property from Southern California north to Washington's Puget Sound. Some aggressive animals may also be a threat to public safety at certain locations.
The draft report to Congress is based on a larger scientific report, also produced by the fisheries service, which describes robust seal and sea lion populations on the West Coast. The science report estimates that by the mid-1990s there were 161,000 California sea lions and 76,000 harbor seals off California, Oregon and Washington. These populations are growing at an annual rate of about five percent and consuming roughly 217,000 metric tons of fish and shellfish every year, the science report says.
By contrast, many runs of salmon on the West Coast are in sharp decline and are protected under federal law from harm by humans. Fisheries service biologists noted, however, that there is a wide variety of other factors, including habitat degradation, dams and fishing, responsible for these population declines.
The draft report to Congress says state and federal wildlife managers, under strict federal guidelines, ought to be permitted to kill seals or sea lions in certain situations where they are preying on salmonids listed or about to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the draft report says, in cases where seals or sea lions are causing problems with human activity, including at such locations as fishing grounds or marinas, state or federal managers should be authorized to kill the marine mammals as a last resort, if individual animals fail to respond to repeated attempts to deter them.
Other recommendations include:
Development of safe and effective deterrents so that lethal removal of nuisance animals becomes a seldom-used option. There is a "pressing need," according to the report, for research on the development and evaluation of methods that would drive away seals and sea lions without harming them.
Reinstatement of the authority, removed from the federal marine mammal protection law in 1994, that allows a fisherman to kill a seal or sea lion as a last resort to protect his catch or gear. Such authority, the reports says, would be only for certain fishermen at specific sites, and only until effective non-lethal means can be developed. Harbor seals, California sea lions and other marine mammals such as whales and porpoises have been protected since the early 1970s, when the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed. In addition, some of these marine mammals, although not harbor seals or California sea lions, are further protected by the Endangered Species Act because their population levels are so low. The 17-page draft report to Congress will be available for public comment until late June and can be obtained by writing to the Regional Administrator, NMFS Northwest Region, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., BIN C15700, Seattle WA 98115 or to Chief, Marine Mammal Division, NMFS Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring MD 20910. The scientific report, which is not subject to public comment, can be obtained from either address as well.
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