It's A Start...

IronNoggin

Well-Known Member
U.S. House approves bill to allow killing sea lions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow tribal managers and government fish managers to kill limited numbers of sea lions in the Columbia River to improve the survival of endangered salmon and steelhead populations.

The legislation passed by a vote of 288 to 116.

Under the bill, designated officials would be able to remove some California and Stellar sea lions from specific areas where they are posing the most harm to endangered native fish runs.

The bill is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., and U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore.

“For the salmon and steelhead fighting to make it upstream, today’s vote in the U.S. House significantly improves their chances of survival," Beutler said after passage of the bill.

"The passage of my bipartisan bill signals a return to a healthy, balanced Columbia River ecosystem by reining in the unnatural, overcrowded sea lion population that is indiscriminately decimating our fish runs."

Beutler said supporters of the bill are "not anti-sea lion," adding, "We’re just for protecting a Pacific Northwest treasure - salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and other native fish species iconic to our region."

A companion bill is moving through the U.S. Senate now, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Joe Stohr, acting director of the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife, supported the passage of the bill.

“We appreciate today’s action by the House of Representatives and the efforts of Representatives Herrera Beutler and Schrader to secure the bill’s passage. Sea lion predation on salmon is a complex issue, and we thank them for recognizing the need for action to help recover threatened and endangered populations in the Columbia River.”

http://komonews.com/news/local/us-house-to-vote-on-bill-allowing-lethal-removal-of-sea-lions

Cheers,
Nog
 
Is the general public aware of the kills?
Removal of some sea lions has been going on for a couple of decades, there have been fights with animal rights groups over the kills at Bonneville dam for years. This new legislation is making it easier. Previosly they had to observe the sea lion at the ladder. try and scare it off with some noise making explosives, if it didn't work capture and mark it, document it eating salmon, capture it again, then finally either euthanize it or send it to an aquarium. Most have been euthanized. There were a small number killed each year. This The latest text of a bill that would appoint members of local Indian tribes to remove from the Columbia River and its tributaries as much as 10 percent of the "potential biological removal level," a technical term that refers to the number of animals that can be killed while still maintaining a sustainable population. So it will be easier to remove them and more will be killed.
 
Someone please explain the difference between predator culls on land vs sea.

They happen all the time on land (ie wolves).

Also removal of problem bears, etc. happens regularly.
 
Someone please explain the difference between predator culls on land vs sea.

They happen all the time on land (ie wolves).

Also removal of problem bears, etc. happens regularly.


That's what they are doing, removing problem animals that have learned to take advantage of the man-made bottleneck at the bottom of the Bonneville dam. These are a federally protected (in both the US and Canada) species so special legislation was required to allow an expansion of this specific action on the Columbia river. The issues the Columbia river salmon are having however is not due to Sea Lions, the Sea Lions have become a problem at Bonneville due to our actions. The 14 dams on its main stem and many more on tributaries. poor logging practices, dredging, urban development, tributary water diversions and it even runs through the most contaminated nuclear site in North America have all impacted Salmon runs far more. Humans have treated the Columbia pretty poorly, its a wonder it still produces any Salmon.

Wolf exterminations on land aren't even worth comparing. The negative impacts on the entire ecosystem of wolf removal have now become so well documented the efforts are to reintroduce them, not kill them. The impacts in Yellowstone are amazingly far reaching, even affecting seemingly unrelated things like the course of streams and rivers. Some limited hunts are allowed in some lower 48 states, but not because they are needed ecologically , its mainly states bowing to cattle rancher pressure and hunters who don't like competition for ungulates.
 
... The issues the Columbia river salmon are having however is not due to Sea Lions, the Sea Lions have become a problem at Bonneville due to our actions.

Nonetheless, Sea Lions are indeed an identified problem there and elsewhere.
In Canada it is recognized that the pinniped take is approximately 600 % of the entire commercial and recreational sector's harvests combined. Regardless of how you slice it, that is a damn significant number, and speaks loudly to the fact that their overpopulated & blanket protected populations present a clear and present danger.

Harvesting or culling of the pinnipeds is not the sole answer.
Obviously there is a drastic need for habitat mitigation / enhancement programs of significance, and programs to augment chinook populations until such time as they can take that over themselves.

Wolf exterminations on land aren't even worth comparing. The negative impacts on the entire ecosystem of wolf removal have now become so well documented the efforts are to reintroduce them, not kill them.

WOW! Drinking the koolaid again I see.
Please stick to what you know at least a little of. :rolleyes:
In BC wolf populations are at an all time high, are currently threatening the basic survival of numerous ungulate species & herds, and are in desperate need of reduction if some of those pressured populations are to survive. Note I said "reductions" NOT exterminations. BIG difference, and the latter is of course completely undesirable.

The Disneyisation of the Yellowstone impacts of reintroduction have been widely disproven. A little google work on your end once again appears to be in order...

Nog
 
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Glad California is not an outfitters, a hunter, a rancher, or anyone who loves to see elk in an ecosystem that the reintroduction of the wolves were in. He may sing a different song, yes maybe Disneyland changes (anti hunting BS at the grandest) have now allowed beaver to make beautiful ponds and all the animals gather around like in the movies. Wake up, Bambi's dad is only looking for another doe, not protecting him from the bad hunter. The days of letting nature run its course are over, every animal on this planet must be carefully managed to increase carrying capacity for all species.

Long protection of pinnipeds has now shown to have a huge negative effect on salmon stocks, not the only negative one but a large part of a larger problem. Lets manage for capacity of all species. Poor anti's this may mean some have to die. That's called life, something dies so something can live.

HM
 
WOW! Drinking the koolaid again I see.
Please stick to what you know at least a little of. :rolleyes:
The Disneyisation of the Yellowstone impacts of reintroduction have been widely disproven. A little google work on your end once again appears to be in order...

Nog
As usual your responses are unable to leave out the personal attacks and your idiotic emojis. You are abusive to everyone who ever provided another view to your far right kill everything view. Many Fisheries and wildlife populations are at crisis levels not just in Canada but around the world. mainly due to humans "managing" them.

From a realistic perspective, look around pal. you are losing on EVERY front you post on. The Columbia River actions at Bonneville are unfortunate but necessary, but it will not impact the overall population. The very fact that healthy pinniped populations are necessary for an entire species of killer whale to thrive will prevent any large scale killing of them ever happening. Seal pelts are almost worthless so there is no economic reason to do it either. The grizzly hunt is gone, hunts on other apex predators are under pressure because human hunters wanting to shoot more ungulates is not a good enough reason for the vast majority of the population to support it.

I sympathize with the plight of the WCVI commercial fisherman in general with the fishery being handed to the FN. but you are such a nasty individual its hard to include you with that. I don't insult you personally (well I have in response to your insults and should probably refrain and will from now on). I actually think you have interesting insights on many issues , but seem unable to just communicate them without adding insults. I wish you were more respectful of others on this forum who don't agree with you, but realize that will never happen.
 
And as usual sir (using the term loosely that is) you are pretty much in error in most of what you post once again.
That's OK, methinks most are used to that from you by now...

Seems there are an awful lot of folks who's opinion regarding seals & sea lions are diametrically apposed to your own:

What People Are Saying About the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act

https://schrader.house.gov/legislation/salmon-predation-prevention.htm

Pretty easy even for those with blinders to reality on to determine they are discussing one hell of a lot more than the 900 sea lions mentioned in the initial discussion:

http://www.cbbulletin.com/441026.aspx

Have a great day.
Nog
 
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Looks like FN might be harvesting them sometime soon... "We have talked to the DFO about (a seal cull) and they said they would give us a licence to harvest seals if we could come up with a use for them,”

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/exploding-salish-sea-seal-population-sparks-call-for-a-cull
cleardot.gif
 
Looks like FN might be harvesting them sometime soon... "We have talked to the DFO about (a seal cull) and they said they would give us a licence to harvest seals if we could come up with a use for them,”

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/exploding-salish-sea-seal-population-sparks-call-for-a-cull
cleardot.gif

Kenny left out the part about when DFO started cracking down on them killing seals because recreational fishermen on the Fraser were complaining about First Nations bullets ricocheting off the water towards where recreational fishermen were fishing on the banks. I guess Kenny memory is not so good in his old age.

https://www.straight.com/article-156573/native-seal-kills-fraser-raise-questions

Native seal kills on the Fraser raise questions
 
Well, that 10 year old article you posted doesn't say anything at all about specific incidents as you describe. It was referring to a notice of reminder of the safe handling of hand guns after RCMP ran into people on the river that were 'packing'.

"Glen Kostiuk, DFO’s conservation and protection supervisor for the Fraser Valley, explained that officials are not investigating anyone for shooting seals, nor are they aware of any recent incidents. The notice, according to Kostiuk, was issued to remind people about the safe handling of firearms, after fisheries officers and the RCMP ran into people on the river with guns"

So then why should Ken Malloway mention [in the article I posted], that there was a reminder 10 years ago about safe gun handling ?

Hopefully though, if I understood the purpose of your post, an actual FN harvest of seals done today would have a catch requirement with practices that were a bit safer than bullets flying everywhere. Killing people in the crossfire might not be a good idea ;-).
 
Well, that 10 year old article you posted doesn't say anything at all about specific incidents as you describe. It was referring to a notice of reminder of the safe handling of hand guns after RCMP ran into people on the river that were 'packing'.

"Glen Kostiuk, DFO’s conservation and protection supervisor for the Fraser Valley, explained that officials are not investigating anyone for shooting seals, nor are they aware of any recent incidents. The notice, according to Kostiuk, was issued to remind people about the safe handling of firearms, after fisheries officers and the RCMP ran into people on the river with guns"

So then why should Ken Malloway mention [in the article I posted], that there was a reminder 10 years ago about safe gun handling ?

Hopefully though, if I understood the purpose of your post, an actual FN harvest of seals done today would have a catch requirement with practices that were a bit safer than bullets flying everywhere. Killing people in the crossfire might not be a good idea ;-).

Lol it was more me just ranting about Kenny. I am for a seal harvest. Even though I have no idea about a good way and how much would need to be killed.

I think the last thing we would want to do at this point would be to kill to many seals and inadvertently harm the Biggs killer whale populations.

Perhaps only harvesting seals in fresh water/ in rivers.
 
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