More Tragic News from Nehalem Bay

[OneLastCast]

This is an update from my earlier post.

HISTORY:
The Nehalem bay is a very small estuary, smaller in width then the Willamette in many spots. We have (HAD) a resident population of 80+ seals that resided on a sand bar across from the Jetty Fishery near the mouth.

My earlier post spoke of a band of renegade Orcas that made a foray in to our quiet, private seal preserve.(Jeez!!!! I hope they kept the GPS coordinates so the can find their way back)

CURRENT:
The Latest report from Jetty Fishery is that there is only FIVE seals basking on our beautiful beaches. Obviously some are hunkering down somewhere but there has been some major hurt put on the population. An unsubstantiated report of a local crabber that was in the area when the assualt occured stated "the river was running red for quite some time".

I agree with Phishon that Orcas also eat salmon but....since they only come once in awhile, there are few salmon in our system now, and they possibly reduced the seal population by 75%, I can live with them.

If each seal eats 4 lbs(assumption) a day then the Nehalem estuary was suffering 116,800 lbs of biomass loss per year with 80 seals. Then the remainder is a math assignment to be turned in later.

Jumping for Joy
OneLastCast

[Deleted User]

OLC,

That is a joyful report of nature in action. Thanks. But your topic line struck me twice with the image of drownings. images/icons/frown.gif Oouch, don't do that. images/icons/wink.gif I would love to just see a pod of orcas down this way. They're common up around Vanc. Island and inside passage but I have only seen a lone one on 2 occassions off T-Bay. Anyone see more of them at times? More importantly, can anyone make seal noises out near the T-Bay jetties, up by bouy 6, and on up trying to lure the pod into the bay for a BIG feast?!?

RT

[Starr]

My wife and I were on our honeymoon last year, sitting on the deck of Campbell River's Painters Lodge drinking Kokanee beer when a "megapod" swam by. They were escorted by the Canadian Coast Guard and every other craft that would float. We thought it was aweful nice for the Canadians to put on a show for us like that. images/icons/smile.gif

[LAYthe5]

I am curious that if people on the beach shoo-ed seal's into the water when orca's are in the area, would that be considered illegal by ODFW. You could just be having a leisurely stroll along the pacific, "RIGHT".
Really, I'm just glad to see that there's some kind of Predation of seal's, theres just too many of them. Just think, if there was no Deer season, we'd just be mowing them down left and right with our cars and trucks.

LTF images/icons/grin.gif

[BUGLEMAN]

A simple addition to the 4Lb assumption. You can bet that seals kill at least 2 salmon etc. per day probably more in the fat times and just eat the best parts. So, 2 20 lb springers per day = megga bio mass. Three cheers for the Orcas.

[Mr. Fisherman]

LTF,

You crack me up images/icons/grin.gif.

WE could put together a little jetty marathon fishing party, day and night. We could crank up the tunes of seal barks and whale songs and have a BBQ.... images/icons/wink.gif


Whats the difference between a live trap and a heavly weighted over sized crab trap?
images/icons/rolleyes.gif images/icons/rolleyes.gif Bait for the bait for the really big crabs.... images/icons/tongue.gif

[Deleted User]

I heard the Coast Guard chases them out of Tillamook Bay. Any truth to that?
Stew

[Bait O' Eggs]

OLC - I think I found some of your missing seals this last week. There has to be easily over 300 seals at Garibabldi. I started to count them, but it was just to hard.

I could not believe how many seals are on the big sandbar straight out from the coast guard station.

It is just way out of control. We could really use some predators or some management of a problem out of control.

[Pilar]

Hey B.O.E. did they get into your crab gear?

[Bait O' Eggs]

Pilar - I have not used the rings for a couple years now. The seals tear up the bait and it is a lot of work to pull them all the time.

My pots dont allow the seals access to the bait. And then wrapping the bait in a little wire mesh even makes it hard for the crabs to get to it.

I did watch the seals swim to my floats and then dive, I am sure they were following the rope down to the pot looking for a meal.

[RJ]

the orcas came into the yaquina last week and did not even get a chance to feast the coast guard chased them out images/icons/mad.gif this has become standard procedure the last few years.I for one think this is a bunch of crap,they cite public safety as their #1 reason,yet why not close the bay down for a few hours and let this natural process take its coarse,the orcas have been doing this for umpteen tens of thousands of years,so who has the right to say no we cant let them do this.

[willierower]

Ive seen 3 in Yaquina bay, This was 7 years ago. They went clear up the bay past the oyster farm. We were staying at Sawyers Landing and as we wnt out topll some crab pots the whale were heading back down the bay. The biggest whale came and checked us out. I tell you what, Those guys are BIG. He swam within 10 feet of the boat. That was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
In may of 2000 my wife and I were in Gold Beach on our honeymoon. We were walking on the beach by the south Jetty. We were witnesses to the death of a sealion. There was a small pod (3 or 4 ) of Orcas just off shore. One grabbed a sealion and threw it the air then grabbed it again and flung it around like a dog would do to a sock. It was too cool. Needless to say every Seal and Sealion in the area hauled but into the bay and headed to the marina.