Good news, bad news, for Alaska sea lion numbers

A count of Alaska's Steller sea lion pups indicates the state's two populations are headed in different directions for recovery.
Pups in the eastern population, living along Alaska's Panhandle, are thriving.
"The eastern stock has met its recovery criteria," said Lowell Fritz, a biologist at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle. The population may even be close to removal from the threatened species list, he said.
The western population, from Prince William Sound to the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea, continue to struggle.
"We expected to see the increased Steller sea lion numbers in southeast Alaska again," said Doug DeMaster, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. "The mixed results in the western population, however, indicate that some areas have improved in numbers while others continue to decline, especially the western Aleutian Islands."
Most of the world's sea lions live in Alaska. The western stock declined by 75 percent between 1976 and 1990, leading to their listing as endangered.
Disease and contaminants have diminished as suspects, Fritz said. The decline likely was due to a combination of factors, including environmental changes, nutritional stress or changes in prey compositions.
"We don't really know how to weight those," Fritz said.
Federal, university and state researchers have spent millions trying to find out. Federal wildlife managers implemented no-fishing zones around rookeries and haulouts to enhance recovery, a move questioned by Alaska's commercial fishing industry.
The eastern population, which extends from Alaska's Cape Saint Elias into California, was counted last year at between 45,000 and 51,000 animals. The population has more than doubled since it was declared threatened in 1990.
The last pup survey was done in 2005. Aerial surveys from June 24 to July 15 covered three-quarters of the western range, Fritz said. Survey sites in the western Aleutians or Pribilof Islands could not be flown and numbers from earlier years, mostly 2008, were used.
Pup production in the western population increased from 9,950 in 2005 to 11,120 this year but varied greatly by area. Pup counts increased 18 percent throughout the Gulf of Alaska and the eastern Aleutian Islands but were 6 percent lower in the central and western Aleutians.
The number of Steller sea lion pups counted southeast Alaska was 7,462. That exceeded previous counts going back to the 1960s. The new data indicate that pup production has increased at a rate of almost 4 percent per year at southeast Alaska's five major rookeries since the late 1970s.
Fritz said the surveys indicate some mingling of the populations. Recent genetic samples indicate that western females have moved to southeast Alaska and are breeding with the eastern population. Likewise, the easternmost rookery of the western population showed 200 more pups than four years ago.
"Some of that could be eastern moms moving west," Fritz said.

Sea lions at Victoria's Race Rocks injured by debris, boats

Sea lions gathering on Race Rocks are suffering horrific human-caused injuries from garbage and boats, says the eco-guardian of the marine protected area at the eastern entrance of Juan de Fuca Strait.Ryan Murphy, Race Rocks' resident marine scientist, employed by nearby Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, is forced to watch helplessly while California and Steller sea lions starve, suffocate or develop infections from rings of plastic fishing debris, because there is no safe way to remove them.As the huge animals lounge on rocks outside his home, Murphy is also seeing an increasing number of injuries he believes are caused by boat propellers. He's appealing to recreational boaters and the whale-watching industry to slow down and keep their distance."Some of the recreational boaters come right up to the jetty at full speed, pull into the kelp bed and as soon as they get their picture, speed away again. I don't know if it's complete ignorance or what.... There was a guy here three days ago feeding the sea lions with leftover bait," he said.Murphy, 26, who spends nine months of the year on Race Rocks, keeps track of the approximately 1,500 sea lions in the area and photographs the wounds and killer neck rings, but he knows the majority of the badly wounded die at sea."I have seen four apparent boat strikes this season and eight with wounds from entanglements with fishing gear. It's really gruesome," Murphy said.Steller sea lions are listed as a species of "special concern" under the Species at Risk Act. It's believed that during breeding season there are between 18,400 and 19,700 in B.C. waters.While it's possible the chest slashes could be caused by killer whales or sharks, there is no doubt the neck rings come from fishing paraphernalia, such as the plastic bands around bait boxes. Murphy wants "rotcords" on packing materials, so if loops of plastic are thrown into the ocean, a small strip of material will rot away.A better solution is to ensure plastic loops, ropes or loops of fishing line are never discarded in the ocean, said Lisa Spaven, Department of Fisheries and Oceans marine mammal response co-ordinator."Unfortunately, these are very curious animals that poke their noses into things. Sometimes they take fish off active lines or gear and get entangled, or they swim through drifting pieces of debris," she said.Beach cleanups such as the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup -- happening this weekend -- help raise awareness of the danger of discarding plastic bags or other debris in the ocean, Spaven said.Some marine scientists are working on ways to rescue sea lions from neck rings, but for now, little can be done. Animals need to be restrained during the process, but it's dangerous to use tranquilizers because if the sea lion jumps into the water, it will drown."There's a very slim chance that you can successfully disentangle an animal," said Spaven.Marine mammal watching guidelines stipulate a distance of 100 metres must be maintained. "But if you witness a change in behaviour of the animals, lifting their heads or stampeding into the water, you know you have got too close," Spaven said.Marine zoologist Anna Hall, who guides for a whale-watching company, said most whale watchers are careful to abide by the guidelines, but garbage injuries are a major problem everywhere and marine mammal viewing companies can play a vital educational role."If you show a 12-year-old an injured sea lion with a piece of plastic around his neck, I bet that child will never throw another piece of garbage on the ground again."The Vancouver SunBy Judith Lavoie

Sick sea critters aided by Marine Mammal Center

A recent surge in weakened and malnourished sea lions found along the Northern California coast is mystifying scientists and keeping workers hopping at the newly expanded Marine Mammal Center here."We're way ahead in the numbers this year. We have twice as many animals as we should," marine veterinarian Bill Van Bonn said after examining Charcoal, a sick harbor seal.Experts at the non-profit center, located on wind-swept Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, believe the perplexing spike in malnourished sea lions along several hundred miles of coast could be due to a decline in populations of smaller fish that young seals and sea lions eat while developing."It's likely a problem with the food web, something lower in the food chain that is affected, but we are not sure what it is yet," said Van Bonn.For 35 years, the seaside hospital has treated and studied ailing elephant seals and other coastal mammals in bath tubs and makeshift facilities. On Monday, as more and more sick animals are needing attention, a new $32 million building will be unveiled that expands the center's capacity and technical ability at a crucial time.On a recent afternoon, center staff decked out in rubber boots and yellow slickers busily tended to about 130 critters lolling in the center's new pens, which are shaded by solar panels and feature pools with freshly filtered water.The center treats an average of 600 marine mammals a year, but last year more than 800 were rescued. In a recent week, staff rescued 10 more sea lions a day than usual."It's concerning," said Jeff Boehm, the center's executive director.The only bright side, Boehm said, is that the center is now better equipped to help solve the riddle.They have "a state of the art lab, a state of the art suite for performing science and doing that pathological work which helps us understand diseases," Boehm said. The center also has surgeons to repair broken flippers or remove cataracts.Elephant seals, harbor seals and California sea lions make up the bulk of the patients, but the center also is called upon to help untangle whales caught in fishing nets, or to perform necropsies on dead animals that wash ashore.Only about 50 percent of the animals rescued make it out alive, but all of them help in the center's scientific mission: more than 14,000 genetic and tissue samples have been stored.The new building allows for more public access, which is free. Visitors can view the animals in their pens, watch a necropsy or attend classes.The Marine Mammal Center has also sought to have a lighter environmental footprint in its new digs: ceiling tiles are made of seaweed and structural beams are composed of partially recycled materials. The solar panels used to shade the pens also provides about 10 percent of the electricity consumed.These days, as the ocean's acidity rises due to climate change, much of the center's work will be focused on studying how this changing sea chemistry is affecting the mammals that live within its 600 mile-reach. Only about eight percent of the center's patients are injured by hazards like fishing nets, tackle or boats.On a recent sunny afternoon a group of the malnourished California sea lions barked as two volunteers held one of them down so a feeding tube could be inserted.The staff force-fed the sea lion, known as Robin, with a yellowish mash of herring, water and salmon oil, hoping to bolster Robin's strength so she can eventually return to the sea.

Increase in Leptospirosis Disease in Sea Lions

The Marine Mammal Center is seeing a large number of leptospirosis cases in California sea lions this year and is leading a study to determine when and why the sea lions contract this disease. Every four to five years, the Center sees a surge in the number of sea lions admitted as a result of this bacterial infection that affects the kidneys and can be lethal for patients.The current research will focus on the factors contributing to these cycles of disease so that scientists will have an understanding of how the disease spreads and what the risks are to sea lions and other animals. Recently, the Center began taking blood samples, tagging, and releasing wild juvenile California sea lions in the Bay Area as part of the new research study."The blood samples our team will collect from wild California sea lions will help them determine kidney function and exposure rates among these animals," said Dr. Jeffrey Boehm, Executive Director at The Marine Mammal Center. "The data will also help us understand more about the susceptibility of sea lions in the population during an epidemic and clarify the relationship between the stranded sea lions with leptospirosis we see here at the Center and those that are susceptible in the population."Leptospirosis epidemics were first documented in California sea lions in the early 1970s and are caused by spiral shaped bacteria called leptospires. Many different animal species, including humans, carry the bacterium which can leech into water or soil and survive there for weeks to months. Humans and animals can become infected through contact with contaminated urine, water, or soil. If not treated, the patient can develop kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, and respiratory distress. The Marine Mammal Center advises beach goers and their dogs to stay away from marine mammals they may encounter on beaches and to call the Center's 24-hour response line at (415) 289-SEAL should they come across any marine mammal in distress.Collaborators in this new study include the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, University of California Los Angeles, University of California at Davis, Penn State University and the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa.Source: The Marine Mammal Center

Sea Lions Sick From Contagious Disease

Dozens of sick California sea lions have been brought in to the Marine Mammal Center field office in Moss Landing for care, and officials say a contagious infection is to blame.Marine officials say the mammals are dehydrated, lethargic and in pain. The infection is called leptospirosis, and it affects the liver and kidneys. Marine officials said some years have more outbreaks than other years. They said this disease follows a cyclical pattern.2 sea lions were brought into the Moss Landing field office Wednesday with sure signs of the disease. Veterinarians treat the animals with IV drips and fresh water. Just last month [September 2008], dozens of sea lions were treated at the center and transported to the main animal hospital in Sausalito for tests.Field Office Manager Sue Andrews said the infection is contagious.Animals and even humans can be infected with the bacteria, but it is usually not directly transmitted through salt water. She advises people to stay away from the sea lions and to keep good hygiene.Andrews said she expects the outbreak to die down during the winter months. If you see an affected animal, please call the Marine Mammal Center at: (831) 633-6298.

Toxic Algal Blooms May Cause Seizures In California Sea Lions

Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose exposure to domoic acid as a fetus. The findings follow an analysis earlier this year led by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center that showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease.John Ramsdell of NOAA's Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, SC, in partnership with Tanja Zabka, a veterinary pathologist at the Marine Mammal Center, conducted the first-of-its kind analysis of poisoning by the algal toxin, domoic acid, during fetal brain development. The results, analyzed across multiple animal species, point to the toxin as a cause for behavioral changes and epilepsy that does not become evident until later in life.Domoic acid is produced by harmful algal blooms. The algae is consumed by fish such as sardines, herring and anchovies, a significant part of the sea lion diet. Exposure during pregnancy concentrates the domoic acid toxin in the mother's amniotic fluid, which normally protects and aids in the growth of a fetus. In sea lions exposed to domoic acid, the fluid retains the toxin, thus subjecting the fetus to repeated direct absorption through immature skin cells and swallowing during gestation.The results, demonstrated experimentally in laboratory animals and projected to occur in fetal sea lions, is abnormal development of brain neurons which does not impact the animal until it enters later life stages. This phenomenon, known as "fetal basis to adult disease," is expressed through seizures and abnormal behavioral changes."This represents a significant break through in understanding the origins of this behavior and will help us better understand the long-term consequences of exposure to harmful algal blooms during pregnancy," notes Ramsdell.Algal blooms have been increasing in the sea lions' habitat, resulting in more cases of acute poisoning and increased concern over the long-term effects of algal toxins.Scientists in NOAA's Oceans and Human Health Initiative are studying the impact of harmful algal blooms on marine mammals to determine if similar impacts could affect humans exposed to the similar harmful toxins.Source: NOAA

Toxic Algal Blooms May Cause Seizures In California Sea Lions

Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose exposure to domoic acid as a fetus. The findings follow an analysis earlier this year led by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center that showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease.

John Ramsdell of NOAA's Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, SC, in partnership with Tanja Zabka, a veterinary pathologist at the Marine Mammal Center, conducted the first-of-its kind analysis of poisoning by the algal toxin, domoic acid, during fetal brain development. The results, analyzed across multiple animal species, point to the toxin as a cause for behavioral changes and epilepsy that does not become evident until later in life.
Domoic acid is produced by harmful algal blooms. The algae is consumed by fish such as sardines, herring and anchovies, a significant part of the sea lion diet. Exposure during pregnancy concentrates the domoic acid toxin in the mother's amniotic fluid, which normally protects and aids in the growth of a fetus. In sea lions exposed to domoic acid, the fluid retains the toxin, thus subjecting the fetus to repeated direct absorption through immature skin cells and swallowing during gestation.
The results, demonstrated experimentally in laboratory animals and projected to occur in fetal sea lions, is abnormal development of brain neurons which does not impact the animal until it enters later life stages. This phenomenon, known as "fetal basis to adult disease," is expressed through seizures and abnormal behavioral changes.
"This represents a significant break through in understanding the origins of this behavior and will help us better understand the long-term consequences of exposure to harmful algal blooms during pregnancy," notes Ramsdell.
Algal blooms have been increasing in the sea lions' habitat, resulting in more cases of acute poisoning and increased concern over the long-term effects of algal toxins.
Scientists in NOAA's Oceans and Human Health Initiative are studying the impact of harmful algal blooms on marine mammals to determine if similar impacts could affect humans exposed to the similar harmful toxins.
Journal reference:
Ramsdell et al. In Utero Domoic Acid Toxicity: A Fetal Basis to Adult Disease in the California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus). Marine Drugs, 2008; 6 (2): 262 DOI: 10.3390/md20080013
Adapted from materials provided by National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

More than 50 sea lions massacred in Galapagos

Ecuadoran authorities are investigating the massacre of 53 sea lions that were found with crushed skulls in the Galapagos Islands, the endangered natural reserve's officials said Monday. The dead animals were in an advanced stage of decomposition when they were discovered on the island of Pinta, scattered in a one-kilometer (half-mile) radius, said Galapagos National Park official Victor Carrion."The sea lions, including 13 pups, died because of a strong blow from someone. It was a massacre whose motives the prosecutor's office must clarify," Carrion told AFP.The animals' remains did not appear to have been mutilated, and no cuts were found on their skins or limbs, he said.The authorities found no other killed animals but they stepped up patrols of the islands, Carrion said.The Galapagos islands are 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific ocean.The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) placed the islands on its list of endangered world heritage sites last year, saying they were threatened by invasive species, growing tourism and immigration.

Group seeks protection for Ribbon Seals

Frustrated by a lack of regulations to limit global warming, a conservation group is looking to spur action with the aid of Arctic animals. The Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday filed a 91-page petition with the National Marine Fisheries Service to list ribbon seals as threatened or endangered because the seals' habitat — sea ice — is disappearing due to climate change brought on by humans."The Arctic is in crisis state from global warming," said biologist Shaye Wolf, lead author of the petition. "An entire ecosystem is rapidly melting away and the ribbon seal is poised to become the first victim of our failure to address global warming."A message left by The Associated Press on Thursday with the federal fisheries service was not immediately returned.It's the center's second attempt to use the Endangered Species Act to force action on global warming. Within weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to list polar bears as threatened because of habitat loss from global warming.World climate experts who made up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported in February that global warming "very likely" is caused by human use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.The Endangered Species Act requires animals to be listed as "endangered" if they risk extinction due to destruction of their habitat. A species is "threatened" if they're likely to become endangered.Either listing would require federal wildlife managers to create a recovery plan that could address U.S. causes of global warming. When considering permits for development, other federal agencies could be required take action to avoid harm to threatened animals.Attorney Brendan Cummings, ocean program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said that without a national legal mechanism regulating greenhouse gases, his organization has turned to the Endangered Species Act. He acknowledged it's no "silver bullet.""Absent action by Congress and this administration, it's perhaps the best law on the books to gain some benefits," he said.The group's strategy is twofold, he said."One is to increase political, public and legal pressure on the Bush administration to squarely confront global warming and the reality that it's arrived in the Bering Sea and Alaska and the Arctic," he said.Also, regulatory agencies are not considering changes in the Arctic before issuing permits, he said."Management decisions for things like oil and gas leasing are largely based on the fiction of a static Arctic that's not warming," he said.The National Marine Fisheries Service manages ribbon seals. The animals are distinguished by the patterns of their fur — four white bands or ribbons encircling the head, base of the trunk and the two front flippers over a dark coat, a pattern that gives them the coloration of a panda bear.Among marine mammals, ribbon seals may be the most dependent on sea ice, Cummings said. The rough estimate for the number of ribbon seals is about 240,000, he said.During summer and fall, ribbon seals live in the water and feed on fish, squid and crustaceans in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. But from March through June, ribbon seals rely on loose pack ice in the Bering and Okhotsk seas for reproduction and molting, and as a platform for foraging.Ribbon seals give birth and nurse pups exclusively on sea ice. Ice allows the seals and their young, which can't swim, to avoid predators. Newborn ribbon seals have a coat of soft, white hair called lanugo that provides insulation until the thick layer of blubber develops. Pups can only survive submersion in the icy waters only after they've formed a blubber layer. Sea ice provides a dry platform necessary for pup survival during lactation, and after weaning, a resting platform when pups are learning to be proficient in water. According to the petition, it's critical for ice floes used for pupping to remain stable until pups are independent. Weaned pups have poor swimming and diving skills because their hefty blubbers stores make them buoyant. They spend substantial time on sea ice as they slowly learn diving and foraging skills. Adult ribbon seal adults molt from late April to June after pupping and mating. According to the petition, growth of new hair depends on high skin temperatures reached only when the seals are out of the water and on ice. "Ribbon seals are never on land," Cummings said. "In all the records, there's maybe one or two accounts of a seal on the beach, and it's sick or emaciated." The group predicts ribbon seals could be extinct by the end of the century without changes. Sea ice is breaking up earlier in spring and ice thickness has declined. "The Arctic is imperiled and it's not just the polar bear. it's the entire ecosystem and the ribbon seal is part of that ecosystem," Cummings said.

Alaska Steller sea lion numbers stagnant

The number of endangered Steller sea lions along a long stretch of Alaska coastline remains stagnant, federal scientists said Tuesday। Previous surveys had shown the western population of Steller sea lions — listed as endangered since 1997 — was growing at about 3 percent a year.But the latest aerial survey conducted this summer shows the population is remaining the same, with some areas increasing and others decreasing, said Doug DeMaster, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.While bad weather and mechanical problems prevented flying over the westernmost portion of the survey area, the overall population appears to be about what it was in 2004, researchers said. Data gaps were filled by drawing on information gathered in 2006. The aerial survey has been going on since the 1970s."This year's count, while incomplete, supports the big-picture impression," DeMaster said.Three NOAA scientists, accompanied by two pilots and a mechanic aboard a twin-engine Otter, conducted the aerial survey between June 9 and July 6. The survey area was from just east of Prince William Sound to Attu Island in the Aleutians.The survey is done when the largest number of sea lions are onshore to breed and give birth.Researchers used a camera mounted in the belly of the plane and pointed straight down to capture images of just over 26,000 sea lions, said Lowell Fritz with the center's Alaska Ecosystem Program. Scientists checked 260 sites for sea lions.

"If there were animals there, we would photograph them," Fritz said. "The numbers were basically unchanged if we added them up across the board."The western population of sea lions probably stands at about 45,000 animals, down from an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 in the 1960s, Fritz said.The survey shows sea lion numbers diminishing on the edges of the range. At the same time, sea lions in the central part from Kodiak Island to the eastern Aleutians — what was once the heart of their range — are doing better, Fritz said.The eastern stock of Steller sea lions from southeast Alaska to the California coast is doing well, growing at an estimated 3 to 4 percent a year. Those animals estimated at between 45,000 and 51,000 are listed as threatened. They were not part of the survey, Fritz said.The reasons for the decline in the western population remains unclear.Modeling studies indicate there's been a fairly consistent drop in the birth rate since the late 1970s, Fritz said.Scientists are looking at a variety of things. Disease or some kind of pollutant could be affecting reproduction, but there isn't much data to support that theory, Fritz said.A once-prominent theory that killer whales were to blame also isn't panning out, he said. That's because research now shows that the survival rate for young sea lions — the ones most likely to be targeted by killer whales — has improved dramatically since 2000, Fritz said.He suspects the lower birth rate has to do with the availability or distribution of fish. The key will be determining why that has occurred, whether it perhaps is connected to commercial fishing or climate change.

Alaska Steller sea lion numbers stagnant

The number of endangered Steller sea lions along a long stretch of Alaska coastline remains stagnant, federal scientists said Tuesday। Previous surveys had shown the western population of Steller sea lions — listed as endangered since 1997 — was growing at about 3 percent a year.But the latest aerial survey conducted this summer shows the population is remaining the same, with some areas increasing and others decreasing, said Doug DeMaster, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.While bad weather and mechanical problems prevented flying over the westernmost portion of the survey area, the overall population appears to be about what it was in 2004, researchers said. Data gaps were filled by drawing on information gathered in 2006. The aerial survey has been going on since the 1970s."This year's count, while incomplete, supports the big-picture impression," DeMaster said.Three NOAA scientists, accompanied by two pilots and a mechanic aboard a twin-engine Otter, conducted the aerial survey between June 9 and July 6. The survey area was from just east of Prince William Sound to Attu Island in the Aleutians.The survey is done when the largest number of sea lions are onshore to breed and give birth.Researchers used a camera mounted in the belly of the plane and pointed straight down to capture images of just over 26,000 sea lions, said Lowell Fritz with the center's Alaska Ecosystem Program. Scientists checked 260 sites for sea lions.

"If there were animals there, we would photograph them," Fritz said. "The numbers were basically unchanged if we added them up across the board."The western population of sea lions probably stands at about 45,000 animals, down from an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 in the 1960s, Fritz said.The survey shows sea lion numbers diminishing on the edges of the range. At the same time, sea lions in the central part from Kodiak Island to the eastern Aleutians — what was once the heart of their range — are doing better, Fritz said.The eastern stock of Steller sea lions from southeast Alaska to the California coast is doing well, growing at an estimated 3 to 4 percent a year. Those animals estimated at between 45,000 and 51,000 are listed as threatened. They were not part of the survey, Fritz said.The reasons for the decline in the western population remains unclear.Modeling studies indicate there's been a fairly consistent drop in the birth rate since the late 1970s, Fritz said.Scientists are looking at a variety of things. Disease or some kind of pollutant could be affecting reproduction, but there isn't much data to support that theory, Fritz said.A once-prominent theory that killer whales were to blame also isn't panning out, he said. That's because research now shows that the survival rate for young sea lions — the ones most likely to be targeted by killer whales — has improved dramatically since 2000, Fritz said.He suspects the lower birth rate has to do with the availability or distribution of fish. The key will be determining why that has occurred, whether it perhaps is connected to commercial fishing or climate change.

Fishermen go after protected sea lions

The competition between protected sea lions gobbling Columbia River salmon and impatient humans with empty fishing lines has led to vigilante action. A fisherman shot a sea lion who stole a salmon off the line of a fellow angler Wednesday at a popular fishing spot near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. The sea lion was hit twice but reported alive in the river Wednesday night.Fishermen have complained that the sea lions eat too many salmon at Bonneville Dam, about 50 miles upriver from the confluence at Portland, as well as elsewhere on the two rivers.Brian Gorman of National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle says reports of sea lion shootings have increased in the past two years. But it's rare for authorities to identify a fisherman taking aim at a sea lion.Three states have asked federal permission to kill the more troublesome of the sea lions, a process expected to take more than a year. Fishermen are impatient."People are frustrated," said Brian Tarabochia, a fourth-generation fisherman from Astoria. "They're witnessing fish being eaten by the sea lions, when it's a direct impact to their lives."Still, he said he does not condone illegal shootings. "It's not a good time for a vigilante to be out there," he said.He said, though, that estimates of the spring salmon run eaten at the dam do not take into account many more devoured in the lower river."I don't think every sea lion needs to be killed," he said. "But if they took out the right ones, it would take care of a lot of the issue."California sea lions are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammals Protection Act. Shooting one can bring stiff fines and jail time."We take things like this pretty seriously," Gorman told The Associated Press.Oregon State Police say a fisherman reportedly hooked a salmon, but a sea lion took it off his line. A 60-year-old Rainier resident fishing nearby shot the sea lion twice with a .22-caliber rifle, state police said.The shooting will likely be treated as a civil violation, for which offenders are not arrested, Gorman said. In 2003, an Olympia, Wash., man, was fined $7,000 for shooting a sea lion that had been eating salmon on the Columbia River.Oregon, Washington and Idaho have begun the lengthy process of seeking permission to start "lethal removal" of problem animals under the 1972 law.Two Washington congressmen want to fast-track the process so states and tribes can kill troublesome animals."After trying every trick in the book, this is the only option left to stop the sea lions," said Washington's Republican Rep. Doc Hastings (news, bio, voting record), a sponsor of the bill.Gorman said that in March a half-dozen sea lions were found shot in the head in Washington's Puget Sound but may have been used for target practice after they died. He said others have been found shot on beaches but did not say if a motive was known.The sea lions gather at Bonneville Dam for salmon waiting to pass through fish ladders to spawning grounds upriver. By some accounts, the sea lions eat up to 4 percent of the salmon run. As the sea lions arrive at the dam in late spring, state and federal officials work daily using pyrotechnics and the likes of rubber buckshot to deter the sea lions. But nothing trumps the allure of the fat, tasty spring chinook. "I got one on the back of the neck with a beanbag, and he didn't even drop the fish he was eating," said Darrell Schmidt of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Robert Stansell, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fish biologist, said the workers need to show nonlethal remedies are ineffective before lethal ones can be used. Oregon has trapped a few and trucked them to the river's mouth near Astoria, but the sea lions can cover the 144 river miles back to the dam in two days. Robin Brown of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said there are perhaps 300,000 California sea lions along the Pacific coast, at least six times the number in 1972. He said only 100 or so show up at the dam each spring. The Humane Society of the United States says the sea lions are a red herring. It blames the plight of the salmon on poor fishery and water management, hydroelectric dams, damage to spawning areas and other factors. "It won't save declining salmon runs in the Columbia River, because the sea lions aren't the problem." said Sharon Young, national marine issues field director for the group. "It seems that it is easier to scapegoat the sea lions than to try to address these other more politically charged and complex issues."

Sea lions eradication for salmon fishery

So far, California sea lions have been winning their contest for survival with the Washington and Oregon salmon heading upstream to spawn. That may be about to change. Washington, Oregon and Idaho are asking Congress for permission to kill more than 80 sea lions a year to protect the salmon they feast on.Since federal rules that gave sea lions greater protection in the 1970s, the population of these salmon predators has grown as more gentle efforts called "nonlethal hazing" has not scared them away from their favorite meal.Sea Lions on the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam have been blasted with rubber buckshot, chased by boats, harassed by firecrackers and rockets and subjected to noise from underwater speakers.Both the sea lions and the salmon have potent allies. Backing the salmon are the three Northwest states, American Indian tribes and four of the regions members of Congress. Backing the sea lions is the 10 million-member Humane Society of the United States.The confrontation involves two of the nations pre-eminent environmental laws: the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act."Its a frustrating dilemma," said U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (news, bio, voting record), D-Vancouver, who supports eliminating some of the sea lions. "I am not happy about it, but the trend lines show salmon runs decreasing and sea lion populations growing." State wildlife officials agree."As resource managers, we face choices that sometimes aren't desirable," said Guy Norman, the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife's regional director in Vancouver. "But we have to make these decisions."Prior to the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, California sea lions were rarely seen in the 140-mile stretch of river between the Pacific Ocean and Bonneville Dam, the first of the 19 huge hydroelectric dams on the mainstream of the Columbia and its largest tributary, the Snake River.The number of California sea lions dwindled to fewer than 10,000 before Congress acted. Until 1972, Washington and Oregon paid bounties for sea lions killed in the Columbia, and a state-sanctioned hunter was also employed.Now an estimated 300,000 California sea lions live in the Pacific, chasing the food supply as far north as Puget Sound.On a typical day, a dozen or so California sea lions can be spotted below Bonneville Dam, though as the spring chinook runs peak in late April, between 80 and 85 have been seen on a single day."There have always been some, but what is new is the number of sea lions and their aggressiveness," said Brian Gorman, a National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman in Seattle. "They are doing what God intended them to — eating chinook. Salmon are easy pickings."As the California sea lion population was expanding, salmon populations were in sharp decline.Once, an estimated 16 million salmon returned annually to the Columbia and its tributaries. Now, 13 salmon and steelhead species are protected under the Endangered Species Act."There is not a lot of room for error," Norman said of the effort to revive the most endangered runs.The California sea lions eat about 3,000 spring chinook each year right downstream from Bonneville. The salmon spend several days in the river below the dam before climbing the fish ladders, perhaps to rest or to adjust to fresh water. Each returning female salmon carries 3,000 to 4,000 eggs, so the loss of even one fish is multiplied. In the mid-1990s, Washington state received a permit to kill some of the sea lions at the Ballard Locks, but Sea World in California took three of the worst offenders before they could be killed. There have been no other applications for a license, besides the one submitted late last year by Washington, Oregon and Idaho. "It is not the states contention that California sea lion predation is more significant that other sources of mortality to Columbia River ESA-listed salmonids, but simply it is significant and that it must be dealt with as are other sources of mortality," the application said. Critics say the sea lion issue is just hiding the fact that little has been done to restore the salmon runs. "Its distracting attention from the real issues," said Sharon Young, the Humane Societys field director for marine issues. "If you kill sea lions, it looks like you are doing something meaningful, but it is meaningless. I want these people to stand up and get a spine, quit wringing their hands and do something meaningful." Rep. Baird dismisses the criticism, saying the region has spent billions of dollars on salmon restoration, including changes in the operation of the dams and habitat improvements, along with fishing restrictions.

Sea lions return to Ore. dam for salmon

PORTLAND, Ore. - They're back. Much to the dismay of federalofficials and fishermen, California sea lions have returned to theBonneville Dam to feast on spring chinook salmon as they swim up theColumbia River to spawn.Government employees dragged out the usual arsenal of largefirecrackers, obnoxious noises and rubber bullets to fend offSteller sea lions, who prefer sturgeon, and reported some success.But the same tactics have famously flopped in the past against theCalifornians, who, like the Stellers, are federally protected andseem to know it. They prey on salmon that school up at the base ofthe dam waiting to go up the fish ladders toward spawning grounds.So far there's no sign of C404, the California sea lion whoapproached celebrity status by figuring out how to get into thedam's fish ladders for easy pickings. But officials are watching forhim."We don't know for sure where he might be," Diane Fredlund with theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday.C404 got his hame from a brand applied by a state and federalprogram. Spotters have learned to identify reliably troublesome sealions by brand or other characteristics.Fredlund jokingly suggested showing C404's picture to salmon passingthrough and asking, "Have you seen this face?"Dawn-to-dusk daily hazing by state and federal employees began March1 to discourage both species of sea lions."We're doing harassment against any pinniped we see out there," saidFredlund. "If they show their flippers..."Their protected status makes options against them limited."We're just making it a little uncomfortable for them. That's aboutall we can do at this point," Fredlund said.The salmon run usually picks up by mid-April, and the sea lions arethere to meet, greet and eat. The predators "are coming up earlierand staying longer," Fredlund said.For some reason, the Stellars have been easier to scare off."What's very impressive is the fact that the Steller sea lions arefundamentally gone," said Charles Corrarino of the Oregon Departmentof Fish and Wildlife in a newsletter report on the hazing. "Theyskedaddled."California sea lions are protected under the 1972 Marine MammalProtection Act, and the Stellers are listed under the stricterEndangered Species Act.Biologists say neither species began entering the Columbia in greatnumbers until about 1990.Only in the last five years have the Stellers become a threat tosturgeons, Corrarino said.Oregon, Washington and Idaho applied last year for federalpermission to kill some of the more troublesome California sealions, saying they have exhausted their options. Approval, if itcomes, could take years.By some accounts the California sea lions get about 3 percent of thesalmon runs before the fish make it over the Bonneville fishladders.Animal protection groups say agricultural runoff, the damsthemselves and damage to spawning grounds are far-greater threatsthan the sea lions to the fragile salmon runs, which have shrunk toa small fraction of their historic highs.

Changing Ocean Conditions Led To Decline In Alaska's Sea Lion Population

A new study out of Alaska points out the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, and the need for increased research and stronger science based management to address future concerns.

Studies by a team of scientists at the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium revealed that a sudden ocean climate change 30 years ago changed today's Alaska marine ecosystems, and may be a leading factor in the decline of Alaska's endangered western stock of Steller sea lions.
Theories why the Steller sea lion population declined by more than 80 percent during the 1980s include pollution, commercial fishing, and subsistence harvesting. The new study points instead to a climate regime shift--a natural event in the ocean's climatic cycle--in the late 1970s that may be responsible for current regional population of about 40,000, compared with 235,000 in the 1970s.
The publication, entitled Bottom-up forcing and the decline of Steller sea lions in Alaska: assessing the ocean climate hypothesis found that climate change affected water temperatures and ocean currents determining the abundance of available fish for the sea lion's to eat. Changes in prey led to a decline in the sea lion population. Using interdisciplinary research methods was key in determining the root cause of the sea lion decline.
The need for such research is echoed in a related report: "Conserving Alaska's Oceans," prepared by Natural Resources Consultants. The report outlines 30 years of improved ocean conservation in the waters off Alaska with recommendations for future action. The report makes ten recommendations for continued improvement, including the need to address climate impacts, embrace the goals of ecosystem based fishery management, and the need to strengthen science programs to address future uncertainty.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Marine Conservation Alliance.

Squid fishery kills 15 endangered sea lions (New Zealand)

The southern squid fishery has killed an estimated 15 endangered New Zealand sea lions in the first two weeks of the fishing season.Ministry of Fisheries figures obtained by Forest & Bird show an estimated 15 sea lions were killed in the first two weeks after the southern squid fishing season opened on February 1. Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Kirstie Knowles says the figures show the fishery is well on its way to reaching the limit of 93 sea lions deaths imposed by Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton.“The kill quota set by the minister is so high that it risks pushing this threatened New Zealand marine mammal towards extinction. We are deeply concerned that already 15 sea lions have been killed, suggesting that the fishery will once again be highly likely to kill the maximum number allowed before the fishing season finishes.”

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Navy may deploy anti-terrorism dolphins

SAN DIEGO - Dozens of dolphins and sea lions trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state, the Navy said Monday. In a notice published in this week's Federal Register, the Navy said it needs to bolster security at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, on the Puget Sound close to Seattle. The base is home to submarines, ships and laboratories and is potentially vulnerable to attack by terrorist swimmers and scuba divers, the notice states.Several options are under consideration, but the preferred plan would be to send as many as 30 California sea lions and Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins from the Navy's Marine Mammal Program, based in San Diego."These animals have the capabilities for what needs to be done for this particular mission," said Tom LaPuzza, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Program.LaPuzza said that because of their astonishing sonar abilities, dolphins are excellent at patrolling for swimmers and divers. When a Navy dolphin detects a person in the water, it drops a beacon. This tells a human interception team where to find the suspicious swimmer.Dolphins also are trained to detect underwater mines; they were sent to do this in the Iraqi harbor of Umm Qasr in 2003. The last time the animals were used operationally in San Diego was in 1996, when they patrolled the bay during the Republican National Convention.Sea lions can carry in their mouths special cuffs attached to long ropes. If the animal finds a rogue swimmer, it can clamp the cuff around the person's leg. The individual can then be reeled in for questioning.The Navy is seeking public comment for an environmental impact statement on the proposal.The Navy wanted to deploy marine animals to the Northwest in 1989, LaPuzza said, but a federal judge sided with animal-rights activists concerned about the effects of cooler water, as well as how the creatures would affect the environment. Water in the Puget Sound is about 10 degrees cooler than in San Diego Harbor, which has an average temperature of about 58 degrees, LaPuzza said.Since then, the Navy has taken the dolphins and sea lions to cold-water places like Alaska and Scandinavia to see how they cope."They did very well," LaPuzza said. If the animals are sent to Washington, the dolphins would be housed in heated enclosures and would patrol the bay only for periods of about two hours.Stephanie Boyles, a marine biologist and spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said that sea mammals do not provide a reliable defense system, and that they should not be kept in small enclosures."We believe the United States' citizens deserve the very best defense possible, and this just isn't it," Boyles said, adding that dolphins are easily distracted once in open water. "They don't understand the consequences of what will happen if they don't carry out the mission."Dolphins can live as long as 30 years. LaPuzza said the Navy occasionally gives its retired animals to marine parks but generally keeps them until they die of old age.The Navy has been training marine mammals since the 1960s and keeps about 100 dolphins and sea lions. Most are in San Diego, but about 20 are deployed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.The Navy hopes eventually to downsize its marine mammal program and replace the animals with machines."But the technology just isn't there yet," LaPuzza said. "The value of the marine mammals is we've been doing this for 35 years, and we've ironed out all the kinks."