Columbia River Sea Lions Home Sea Lion News • States wrap up 2009 effort to remove predatory sea lions • Wildlife managers to resume removing California sea lions at Bonneville Dam Background Questions and Answers Sea Lion Fact Sheet Predation at Bonneville Endangered/Threatened Fish Federal Authorization for States to Remove Sea Lions WDFW statement Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission letter [PDF Format] Northwest Power and Conservation Chair letter Other Views No more free lunch on the Columbia - Oregonian Related Links Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Idaho Dept. of Fish and Wildlife National Marine Fisheries Service US Army Corps of Engineers Fish Counts at Bonneville Dam Northwest Power and Conservation Council Marine Mammal Protection Act

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE    600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 Updated August 31, 2009 States wrap up 2009 effort to remove predatory sea lions Efforts by wildlife managers from Washington and Oregon to remove California sea lions that prey on vulnerable salmon and steelhead runs on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam in spring have been suspended until next year. As of the third week of May, only a few California sea lions were still present below the dam, reducing the likelihood of capturing additional animals this year, according to state wildlife managers involved in the project. With the spring chinook run drawing to an end, most California sea lions had returned to their breeding grounds along the coast of southern California. During the spring trapping effort, wildlife managers captured and removed 14 California sea lions that met the criteria for removal outlined by NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that oversees management of marine mammals as well as salmon and steelhead populations listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Four of the captured sea lions were relocated to zoos and aquariums – two to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. The other 10 animals were found unacceptable for transfer to zoological facilities due to health reasons and were euthanized. In August, wildlife managers conducting research in Astoria captured an additional California sea lion that met the federal criteria for removal. That animal was euthanized in accordance with federal protocols because no zoological facility could be found to take it. Wildlife managers will continue to trap and mark California sea lions for identification in Astoria, and plan to resume efforts to remove animals that prey on ESA-listed salmon and steelhead below Bonneville Dam next spring.

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