US Permits Killing Of Hundreds Of Sea Lions To Protect Endangered Fish Like Salmon

To sustain the survival of salmon and steelhead fish, at risk of extinction, the United States authorities gave permission to wildlife managers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho to start killing hundreds of sea lions in the Columbia River basin.

Sea lions feed on these migrating fishes - they bottleneck at dams or where they go to tributaries to spawn. "These are places where the fish are really vulnerable. We have to manage this so the fish can get through to spawn," Associated Press quoted Shaun Clements, senior policy analyst for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as saying.

AP

A change in the Marine Mammal Protection Act by the Congress in 2018, allows sea lions to be killed to reduce their feeding on salmon and other species. Under this new permit, ¡®the states and Native American tribes can kill 540 California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions in the next five years along a 180-mile (290-kilometer) stretch of the Columbia - from Portland to the McNary Dam upriver - and in several tributaries¡¯.

Previously the killing of California sea lions was permitted, however, this is the first time the permission has been given to kill the much larger Steller sea lions.

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Galapagossealion

Apparently, the authorities have tried to use all types of less-lethal methods to deter the sea lions, in the past few decades, such as traps, rubber bullets and explosives, but none yielded any results; the sea lions would come back after a few days. Under the changed Marine Mammal Protection Act, authorities can tranquilize, capture or trap any sea lions in the area, take them to another location and give them a lethal injection. Shooting of the mammals is prohibited.

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Los Angeles Times

However, Sharon Young, senior strategist for marine wildlife at the Humane Society, believes that there are other issues like fishing, competition from hatchery fish and habitat loss that are more dangerous for the salmon. "Killing the sea lions isn't going to address any of that. It is only going to distract from what they aren't doing to address the real problems salmon are facing. You're killing sea lions for nothing," she reportedly said.

Is it okay to kill animals of one species to save that of another? What do you think?