Six sea lions dead from gunshot wounds off Washington coast, group reports
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Thirteen sea lions have been found dead along the shores of Washington since September, according to reports from a wildlife welfare group.
Six of the sea lions died of gunshot wounds, four in West Seattle and two in Kitsap County, according to Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The other seven died of acute trauma suspected from human interactions around Kitsap County and the Puget Sound, with one sea lion washing up decapitated, said Seal Sitters, an organization that responds to reports of dead or stranded sea lions.
Marine mammals, like sea lions, are protected in the U.S. by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits people from harassing, hunting, capturing, killing marine mammals, or attempting to do so. Violations of the MMPA could result in fines of up to $28,520 and/or one year in prison. The 13 sea lion deaths are currently being investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
“We are concerned about a number of recent reports of marine mammal deaths caused by gunshots in the greater Seattle area. All marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and OLE investigates all reported unlawful takes of sea lions,” Greg Busch, assistant director of the NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), said in a statement.
Sea lion deaths increase around the time that fishing runs do, according to Seal Sitters, because fishermen and sea lions often hunt for the same food.
“Animals searching for food to survive and fishermen searching out fish for consumption or livelihood are on an annual, never-ending collision course,” according to a Seal Sitter blog post.
To combat the competition between sea lions and fishermen, the NOAA Fisheries put out suggestions for how to deter marine mammals from interfering in fishing without violating the MMPA. These include making loud noises with horns or through banging, rubber bullets, pyrotechnics and non-lethal, water-soluble paintball guns.
Sea lion deaths for the months of September to November are up six times the yearly average, Seal Sitters report, but the most dangerous months for sea lions are yet to come. The highest months for sea lion deaths, the group added, are December through February, concurrent with fishing runs.
The NOAA reported that between 1998 and 2017, as many as 700 California sea lions were found with gunshot and knife wounds, according to National Geographic . Only a few people were charged for the crimes against marine wildlife, National Geographic reported, all of them fishermen.
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Fishermen vying for the catch with sea lions seem to feel they are above the law. I come from a fishing town, and our fishermen don't have an issue with sharing the water with both sharks and whales. Why have things become so sour in California?
I guess it's because just like everywhere else that fish are caught commercially, the size of the catch keeps getting smaller.
I'm not sure about that Vic. I know on LI the fish are not caught that way. They also have very strict regulations about harming non-fishable animals. I am assuming that CA has the same rules.
Personally, I hope the sick scum that did that are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
I have to agree with you Ed.
Adorable, 11 ft long, 2200 lbs, and very aggressive when approached.
This is a story yes and it is illegal to kill Sea lions without permission. But this story isn't all of the story....
Here is an example from from last week that tells the other side of the story.......
Feds approve plan for state officials to kill sea lions at Willamette Falls
From the article linked....
What the article claims should be done does not work in practical reality. Of course the Sea Lion population has made a resounding recovery from the dark days when it was threatened. Their range actually extends all the way up to southern Alaska. they are routinely seen laying about on docks and mooring up here in Puget Sound especially around the start of the Steelhead and Salmon seasons. Their populations have grown to the point that they are threatening the extinctions of several prominent fish runs.
I'm not talking about the ending of fishing seasons, or eliminating the catch, I'm talking complete total extinction.... this is what the local fish biologists are seeing....
So even though these killings may not be sanctioned, it isn't because they are just rogue people going off half cocked, it is because the Sea Lions are actually well on their way of killing of entire native sub species of fish....
Not challenging the article on it's basis, the illegal killing of Sea Lions, but I am arguing that the need to kill off Sea Lions and control their depredations on the fish populations are very real.....
And given what they are in real life, cute or adorable is not something I would call them.
Another article from last year....
Oregon, Washington and tribes again take aim at sea lions in dispute over salmon
Something needs to be done before we lose all our fisheries....
Absolutism is never a good solution.... it always has unintended consequences
I feel the same way about raccoons
I only feel that way about them when they get into my garbage and manage to break into my garbage proof cans.
I find the little beasties extremely annoying and destructive. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to rip a bird feeder off a pole
Please excuse me trout but....
Raccoons 1
Trout 0
J/K
They are smart little buggers. They actually unscrew the clamp on our garbage pails. Damn those opposable thumbs!
I have had them steal the cushions off of chairs we had on the porch. Found them under a house. I guess were building a nice nesting area.
They're BAAAADDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That just makes me screw my face up in astonishment
Shooting the sea lions is not the way to deal with it. They can just administer birth control to the females if what you are saying is accurate. Also, doesn't California have a large shark population because they are food for them?
Perrie yes and no, yes there is a slowly recovering shark population (and killer whale) but compared to historical numbers their populations are still low, which is part of the reason seal populations have been able to explosively recover (comparatively speaking)
I'm not saying it, the very liberal progressive governments of Washington & Oregon & a number of the Indian Tribes are saying it.....
I believe in save the whales also, just as much as I believe in saving the fish... They both have a right to exist.... And yes they have become the apex predator in the area with few natural enemies......
Any other suggestions?
I'm still going with the birth control. We are using it on Long Island on our deer population that has NO natural predators and it's working.
Our first Coyotes have made it to the island ( over the bridges if you can believe that) and we are hoping that they will help keep the population down a bit.
How do you get deer to take their birth control the exact time every day?
But you have a lot of ''lounge lizards''.....
So don't approach them? Seems like a simple but effective plan.
That was just for those that think they are the little cuddly adorable critters like harbor seals.
Nice to have a real world reference when considering how cuddly they are....
So in other words, the fish are already threatened by human activity. The Sea lions are doing what they would do naturally. Looking only at the sea lions as a cause is ignoring a lot of the problem.
Yeah man does do a lot of things without knowing all the ramification of such and then is forced to wince in pain when the former science meets current understanding....
This is a case of 1920-30 engineering science catching up with 1960's-70's biological science which is catching up with today's environmental science.....
All of which cause us to question the ethical sciences....
It is nice to point fingers, easy as well, what is difficult? come up with a solution, that is the difficult problem.... Yes the sea Lions are doing what comes naturally so are the fish and so are we....
i agree except for this last part. We continue to alter the environment and then scratch our heads when things unravel.
This year we have had several dolphins wash ashore with bullet wounds. Sad really as the dolphins like to swim along side boats.
So people are killing the sea lions because they are eating fish. Uh, that is what they do. I am sure there are people that would love to kill all of them, just so they can rape the ocean themselves.
Gotta agree with ya Ender.
Again overpopulation is the hidden driving force