The Official "Only Here" Sea Lion Thread

[FishFreak]

This could be the Willamette soon

http://www.katu.com/news/local/7036102.html

[weekender]

They dont look very impressive in the water. We've had them climb on the dock at newport thinking they can grab a salmon or halibut that we have laying there. It's a whole different animal when they are standing there at nearly eye level...

[Chrome Bumper]

Try walking around Sportcraft docks when the shad are in.

[fishing is life]

I just advised Sportcraft Marina thier rights as a dock owner. Hopefully they take action before a young child gets killed by one of these dangerous animals.

Here is an excerpt from the NOAA's National Marine Fisheries webpage concerning hazing sea lions.


May I deter a Pacific harbor seal or California sea lion that is hauled out on a beach, breakwater, or is swimming in an area where I want to fish?

The MMPA does not allow private citizens to deter marine mammals from un-developed property (e.g., a beach) or public property (e.g., a breakwater). Private citizens may only deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions that are exhibiting problem behavior that is resulting in, or could result in, damage to private property, fishing gear, or catch.


Do the MMPA and ESA grant additional authority to government officials?

Yes. The MMPA and ESA provide authority to city, county, state, and federal government officials or their employees to deter “nuisance” marine mammals to prevent damage to public property or to protect the public from potential threats by a nuisance animal (read more).

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What limits or constraints apply to the public when deterring Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions?

Deterrence of Pacific harbor seals and California sea lionsmay not result in the following:

• Serious Injury or Mortality – The MMPA authorizes deterrence using non-lethal methods only. Deterrence cannot result in the death or serious injury of marine mammals. NMFS has defined "serious injury" in regulations to include an injury that is likely to lead to the death of the affected marine mammal (read more).
• Deterrence of ESA-Listed Species: As noted above, the intended or unintended deterrence of threatened or endangered marine mammals is not allowed.
• Violation of State Laws or Local Ordinances – The use of some deterrence methods may be prohibited or restricted by states or local governments. For example, a city or county may prohibit the use of, or require special permits for, pyrotechnics. It is your responsibility to check with your local authorities to ensure that any deterrence methods used comply with local and state requirements.
• Risk to Human Safety – If you deter a seal or sea lion in such a manner that you cause injury to another person, you may be liable for your actions.
• Taking of Non-Target Marine Mammals – Deterrence is not authorized if it will result in the death, serious injury, or harassment of non-target marine mammals (i.e., individuals other than those causing damage to private property, gear or catch (read more).

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Who may deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions?

In summary, certain private citizens, marina owners, government officials, and commercial and recreational fisherman may deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions under certain conditions, as described below:

• Private Citizens – Only the owner of the private property (e.g., a dock or vessel) may deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions in order to prevent damage to their private property.
• Marina Owner – Only the marina owner, or an employee of the owner, or an agent of the owner may deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions to prevent damage to the marina.
• Government Officials – City, county, state, or federal officials or their employees may deter listed and Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions determined to be “nuisance” animals to prevent damage to private or public property, or to protect the public from potential threats (read more).
• Commercial and Recreational Fishermen – Fishermen can deter Pacific harbor seals and California sea lions from damaging gear or depredating catch, only if they are actively fishing.

Here is the website link:

http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/deter/index...lions_or_seals

[pablofeesh]

Originally Posted by weekender

They dont look very impressive in the water. We've had them climb on the dock at newport thinking they can grab a salmon or halibut that we have laying there. It's a whole different animal when they are standing there at nearly eye level...

they are impressive in the water when you are in the water with them.

[Rock Phish]

Unfortunatly, they'll probably wait until someone is maimed or killed before they take serious, lethal methods. Then we got them, we can say, "We told you and you didn't listen." But at what cost? When the public's safety is at risk, the lawmakers have an obligation to protect their citizens. It's obvious that they need to be dealt with in a more drastic manner. I'm going to email Brian Baird and tell him about these aggressive animals....again....and I know it's been done before, but If enough people complain, something will get done...I hope.

rockfish

[KevinsDriftboat]

I had to move out of the way of a big one coming up the clack while wading. It was not bothered by my yelling, he continued right at me. It was frightening to see him coming straight at me in 5ft of water.

[Fish_N_Russ]

They had an incident with some up on the docks @ Newport a couple months ago, if I remember right one had actually bit a guy that got too close. OSP was called in but didnt/couldnt really do anything since a big crowd of people were watching then........not too PC to harm those 'poor seals' with many visitors watching

[Ethical hunter]

To be injured by a seal or sea lion one must put themselves in a position for it to occur They will not go out of their way to "chase you down". There are many people who visit the docks at Astoria east mooring basin to look at the sea lions. When driving out on the causeway visitors must pass the rules of the basin, rule #1 boat owners and guest only. The general public has no business going onto those docks to get a close up look at the sea lions - but they do. Many people bring their kids down for a close up encounter and even encourage the animals to chase them. What other wild animal with teeth like a grizzly bear would you see people doing that with?

Everyone has a story about a sea lion biting someone but I have never met someone who has been bitten, it is always a second hand story. By contrast, I know dozens of people who have been bitten by dogs - I am one of them.

How many children have been killed by dogs? Hundreds?

How many children have been killed by sea lions? None?

People are still allowed to keep dogs as pets.

EH

[STRUTTIN-1]

Check out Gold Beach...:frown: :frown: .The worse I have seen.I have done battle with too many of them.They win most of the time.Calf lions are a major problem.Never seen them charge anyone though.Cant say they are someting you want to mess with.

[fyshndad]

EH
No one is suggesting that all seals/sea lions should be hazed or even killed
only the rouge ones that are trouble makers
Can you say pit bull
Not all PB's are dangerous but the ones that attack people or other dogs are dealt with seriously as should ANY animal

[Ethical hunter]

Originally Posted by STRUTTIN-1

Check out Gold Beach...:frown: :frown: .The worse I have seen.I have done battle with too many of them.They win most of the time.Calf lions are a major problem.Never seen them charge anyone though.Cant say they are someting you want to mess with.

the hazing program in Gold Beach has been very successful. When the hazers are on duty fish scavenged by sea lions drops to zero. The trick is to make it unpleasant for them to stay and they will go somewhere else, the problem is that methods to keep sea lions away can be expensive.

EH

[Salmonator]

Originally Posted by Ethical hunter

To be injured by a seal or sea lion one must put themselves in a position for it to occur They will not go out of their way to "chase you down".

Did you even read the article, you are truly amazing...

[pablofeesh]

Originally Posted by Ethical hunter

To be injured by a seal or sea lion one must put themselves in a position for it to occur They will not go out of their way to "chase you down". There are many people who visit the docks at Astoria east mooring basin to look at the sea lions. When driving out on the causeway visitors must pass the rules of the basin, rule #1 boat owners and guest only. The general public has no business going onto those docks to get a close up look at the sea lions - but they do. Many people bring their kids down for a close up encounter and even encourage the animals to chase them. What other wild animal with teeth like a grizzly bear would you see people doing that with?

Everyone has a story about a sea lion biting someone but I have never met someone who has been bitten, it is always a second hand story. By contrast, I know dozens of people who have been bitten by dogs - I am one of them.

How many children have been killed by dogs? Hundreds?

How many children have been killed by sea lions? None?

People are still allowed to keep dogs as pets.

EH

i get bit by sea lions often, we share the same office you could say, two springs ago i had one puncture my 1/2" neoprene hood and leave bruises on my head, but that was the only aggressive feeling bite, they bite on my fins, dive hose, arms legs..everything, but you do make a good point, they are not an aggressive animal by nature, even the one that bit me hard was just playing, they are just tougher than we are. they are a wild animal and if you corner one on a dock, you are asking for it. the sea lion patrol in gold beach is pretty cool, i'm not sure who funds them, it is a five star boat, which is a charter fishing company, good idea none the less. i also agree they have become a problem in the columbia and a sea lion patrol would cost too much money there to cover the whole fleet of sport fisherman........ sort of off topic, i wonder how many the sea lions get when the gillnetters are working, for every 10 fish the netters retain, how many did they capture so sea lions could have an easy meal??

[D-tangle]

Originally Posted by Rock Phish

Unfortunatly, they'll probably wait until someone is maimed or killed before they take serious, lethal methods. Then we got them, we can say, "We told you and you didn't listen." But at what cost? When the public's safety is at risk, the lawmakers have an obligation to protect their citizens. It's obvious that they need to be dealt with in a more drastic manner. I'm going to email Brian Baird and tell him about these aggressive animals....again....and I know it's been done before, but If enough people complain, something will get done...I hope.

rockfish

Are you saying these mammals are the next unlighted intersection accident? The saying goes "A light never gets put up until someone is killed in an intersection".

I hope the appropriate negligent law-makers or wildlife people get sued to high heaven when someone loses their kid to these things. The sealions are not afraid to challenge humans when food or territory is at risk. Don't assume they are afraid of us. Keep clear.

[fishwhenican]

Originally Posted by weekender

They dont look very impressive in the water. We've had them climb on the dock at newport thinking they can grab a salmon or halibut that we have laying there. It's a whole different animal when they are standing there at nearly eye level...

They may not look very impressive in the water to you, but wait until you have one playing bumper ball with you when you are diving. Oh and you are the ball!

[james elliott]

yes i fish and have had many salmon/steal head taken by those fir bags.
i comercial fished in the early 70's on the lower columbia. and had seals use to come right to the side of the boat and bark at you.
a few did and a few didn't do it again ever.

[flapbreaker]

This just happened the other day in Australia

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/04/15/sea-lion.html


A sea lion leaped out of the sea and attacked a 13-year-old girl as she surfed behind a speedboat off Australia's west coast, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A marine scientist said the attack by the sea lion was bizarre and that the animal may have been trying to play with the girl.
Ella Murphy had her jaw broken and lost three teeth after the sea lion attacked her on Friday as she was being towed on a surfboard behind a speedboat at Lancelin, a town 120 kilometres north of the Western Australia state capital of Perth, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
"This thing just exploded in a full-on, frontal attack," family friend Chris Thomas told the paper. "It jumped out of the water at her and hit her head-on."
Sydney Aquarium marine scientist Grant Willis said he had never heard of such an attack before.
"To be out in the water and be attacked like this is just bizarre," he said.

Sea lions, which can grow to more than 400 kilograms but usually stay away from humans, can be very territorial and usually only attack people when provoked.
"It might have been like a rag doll toy ... it could have been ... play for them, just wanting to shake it around," Willis said of the attack.
Murphy was in a stable condition in hospital after having surgery, the newspaper reported.

[Salmonator]

Exactly. So lets see how many "mishaps" occur if we let them quadruple again....

[pablofeesh]

i think they have plenty of white sharks in australia to keep them at bay. this whole argument is pointless, a couple rogue attacks across the nations and you guys are wondering how many more it will take before something is done?? absurd! there is no pattern of any kind what so ever in the attacks, maybe we should start bringing up domestic dog attacks, then we would be getting somewhere, maybe we could snuff out some dogs at random...... you guys dislike sealions, ok... for what other reasons than them eating fish off your line in the columbia? it seems like a pretty primitive argument to me, something to rant about

[Salmonator]

Originally Posted by pablofeesh

there is no pattern of any kind what so ever in the attacks, maybe we should start bringing up domestic dog attacks, then we would be getting somewhere, maybe we could snuff out some dogs at random.....

As soon as I see you training a furbag to guard your house or drop a duck at your feet ( or maybe lick your face) I'll listen to your ridiculous argument. Until then, you find me one good reason to leave the current sealion population unchecked....

[Vinny]

Maybe those who were here long before the rest of us would be interested in a trade. . . . . . They would know what to do with those marine mammals.

[Chrome Bumper]

Seem's like they could be reduced in number by 90% and still have plenty for breeding. That would reduce the compition on the stellar SL and let them rebound to a manageable level too.

Fewer SLs means more fish for people.

[Ethical hunter]

It is intersting that the article mentioned not feeding fish guts to sea lions. At Astorias east mooring basin during the buoy 10 fishery there are several for profit commercial business sport guides that fillet salmon for their paying clients and then throw the carcasses into the basin where they are consumed by waiting sea lions. According to this article this activity is encouraging the sea lions to use these areas. I have also seen the business sport guides do the same with Sturgeon and then have the sturgeon carcasses eaten by sea lions. So, the next time you see sport fishers/guides feeding sea lions please educate them about the harmful effects of this activity - I do.

EH

[Blind Squirrel]

Some of y'all are killing me. I've choked this one back so many times, but my fingers are moving of their own will this morning. Haters, start your flamethrowers.

California Sea Lions are enjoying some of their best numbers in more than a century. I am among those who support removing them from the ESA list and creating provisions to assertively manage [okay, fine, kill some of] them, especially the ones that have habituated to docks and are busting infrastructure, causing property damage in peopleized places. Not because I hate sea lions, but because I recognize that they are clever and stubborn and don't take a hint very well. Like bears, once they figure out a system that works for 'em, they stick with it.

However, to those who proclaim or even imply that we need to exterminate the sea lions to protect our children .... Sorry, I'd feel as horrible as the next person if anyone, ANYONE, were killed by a sea lion, but gimme a break. You can't throw the "protect the children" card at every problem. It turns into a joke.

Nope, let's not even pretend this one's for the kids. We need to remove the sea lions to protect our salmon heritage, the lifeblood of our culture.

By "protect," I obviously mean safeguarding the passage of these migrating fish until we can kill them ourselves. And only after we're done fighting among ourselves to figure out who gets to take which slices of the ever-shrinking salmon pie, because the ESA has not been quite so successful on behalf of the fish.

By "heritage," I mean the fact that people have been ripping these fish to the absolute best of their ability for the past century, and we still feel like it's part of our right to do so because we bought fishing licenses, dang it. By "lifeblood" I mean that our continued ability to catch salmon is crucial, because if we don't we'll all starve to death when winter comes.

Before the flames engulf me, let me tell you who I am: I'm the guy trolling in the boat next to yours, who is every bit as chafed as you when we watch the lions thrash salmon after salmon while we can't get a hit. My stomach turns just like yours when we watch the annual footage of sea lions tearing apart dozens of oversize sturgeon.

But it's worth remembering that what we're watching is animals doing what animals do. Trying to preferrentially manage what the animals do has substantially screwed up countless fish and wildlife populations over the past 120 years. Perhaps time to do less of that kind of helping.

Sure, I'd be okay with whacking a few sea lions. It would help to mollify a lot of really ticked fishermen, and it appears there are a few sea lions to spare these days, so a few less wouldn't bug me. But let's not pretend it's about managing sea lions, or salmon, or protecting children. It's about appeasing our predatory drive to kill off competition. We behave the same way when it comes to cougars in deer country, coyotes in farm country and crab grass that outperforms the expensive seed in our yards.

We get misty when we watch an osprey dive down and clip a smolt. That's called an emblem of the Pacific Northwest. Conversely, a sea lion taking fully grown salmon is verminous depredation. What's the difference? The difference is that we weren't trying to catch the smolt.

[PinkMasta]

My girlfriend was taking some pictures of one out on the cleaning docks here the other day and it jumped up at her! nearly got her...She shouldnt have been so close to it, but they can be agressive animals and should definatly be treated with respect and people should try to stay out of their bubble!

[Chrome Bumper]

Originally Posted by Ethical hunter

It is intersting that the article mentioned not feeding fish guts to sea lions. At Astorias east mooring basin during the buoy 10 fishery there are several for profit commercial business sport guides that fillet salmon for their paying clients and then throw the carcasses into the basin where they are consumed by waiting sea lions. According to this article this activity is encouraging the sea lions to use these areas. I have also seen the business sport guides do the same with Sturgeon and then have the sturgeon carcasses eaten by sea lions. So, the next time you see sport fishers/guides feeding sea lions please educate them about the harmful effects of this activity - I do.

EH

Time to eliminate those incorrigible gillnetters so we can concentrate on training the economically viable commercial guides.

[freespool]

Originally Posted by Blind Squirrel

Some of y'all are killing me. I've choked this one back so many times, but my fingers are moving of their own will this morning. Haters, start your flamethrowers.

California Sea Lions are enjoying some of their best numbers in more than a century. I am among those who support removing them from the ESA list and creating provisions to assertively manage [okay, fine, kill some of] them, especially the ones that have habituated to docks and are busting infrastructure, causing property damage in peopleized places. Not because I hate sea lions, but because I recognize that they are clever and stubborn and don't take a hint very well. Like bears, once they figure out a system that works for 'em, they stick with it.

However, to those who proclaim or even imply that we need to exterminate the sea lions to protect our children .... Sorry, I'd feel as horrible as the next person if anyone, ANYONE, were killed by a sea lion, but gimme a break. You can't throw the "protect the children" card at every problem. It turns into a joke.

Nope, let's not even pretend this one's for the kids. We need to remove the sea lions to protect our salmon heritage, the lifeblood of our culture.

By "protect," I obviously mean safeguarding the passage of these migrating fish until we can kill them ourselves. And only after we're done fighting among ourselves to figure out who gets to take which slices of the ever-shrinking salmon pie, because the ESA has not been quite so successful on behalf of the fish.

By "heritage," I mean the fact that people have been ripping these fish to the absolute best of their ability for the past century, and we still feel like it's part of our right to do so because we bought fishing licenses, dang it. By "lifeblood" I mean that our continued ability to catch salmon is crucial, because if we don't we'll all starve to death when winter comes.

Before the flames engulf me, let me tell you who I am: I'm the guy trolling in the boat next to yours, who is every bit as chafed as you when we watch the lions thrash salmon after salmon while we can't get a hit. My stomach turns just like yours when we watch the annual footage of sea lions tearing apart dozens of oversize sturgeon.

But it's worth remembering that what we're watching is animals doing what animals do. Trying to preferrentially manage what the animals do has substantially screwed up countless fish and wildlife populations over the past 120 years. Perhaps time to do less of that kind of helping.

Sure, I'd be okay with whacking a few sea lions. It would help to mollify a lot of really ticked fishermen, and it appears there are a few sea lions to spare these days, so a few less wouldn't bug me. But let's not pretend it's about managing sea lions, or salmon, or protecting children. It's about appeasing our predatory drive to kill off competition. We behave the same way when it comes to cougars in deer country, coyotes in farm country and crab grass that outperforms the expensive seed in our yards.

We get misty when we watch an osprey dive down and clip a smolt. That's called an emblem of the Pacific Northwest. Conversely, a sea lion taking fully grown salmon is verminous depredation. What's the difference? The difference is that we weren't trying to catch the smolt.

If sea lions were on the ESA list, it would be a simple matter of delisting them, when their numbers rebounded.
But seals and sea lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
Here lies the problem, delisting is next to impossible, doing anything that harms sea lions is next to impossible.

[FrozenFish]

Blind Squirrel finds the nut just fine this time with no prodding. Funny that no one else wants to point out that we are competing with the sealions for the few fish left that we havnt managed to kill off yet. Do these people know that sea lions eat fish??, like to live and stuff. Maybe its the sea lions fault that humans have whittled their food source down to the point where a fish or two here and there starts to be felt pretty hard. -FF

[FrozenFish]

Hey PinkMasta, I almost bought it last summer trying to wrestle a big lion that was hanging out underneath that cleaning dock last summer. I had set a nice king on the dock when some drunk guy waked us out and you guessed it, SPLASH, there goes 35lbs of the best eating fish this side of the blue meanie. I jumped out of my top and Grundens and just below the motor bracket when up from the depths comes Goliath. He ever so gracefully kindof twirls in and snatches my fish in about 10 feet of water and swims off. You've never seen a half frozen white boy come put of the water so fast in your life. Wouldnt have been so bad if he didnt surface 20 feet away and pull the skin off him right there.:blush:

I wish I would have been armed with the information contained in this thread then so I would have known that it wasnt my fault for presenting him with the opprotunity, but instead was squarly his mistake for not knowing I was going to keep that fish. Hope you got a kick out of that story, it took me awhile but I'm starting to see the funny side of it now too.....kindof -FF

[Blind Squirrel]

My bad, Freespool! Thanks for the catch, point taken.

But ESA or MMPA, the result is the same. Getting Congress to vote for a provision to lethally remove cute mammals could take quite some time. Washington got the law amended a few years ago, too late to save a steelhead run but they did get a provision inserted. Oregon and Washington are in process now to get a similar, more permissive management authority from the feds for the Bonneville lions ... but will it be enough to save our kids?

[Chrome Bumper]

Originally Posted by FrozenFish

Blind Squirrel finds the nut just fine this time with no prodding. Funny that no one else wants to point out that we are competing with the sealions for the few fish left that we havnt managed to kill off yet. Do these people know that sea lions eat fish??, like to live and stuff. Maybe its the sea lions fault that humans have whittled their food source down to the point where a fish or two here and there starts to be felt pretty hard. -FF

Get rid of the bulk of their population and they will take less fish, kind of like removing aphids from your roses or rats from your granaries. Aphids and rats have to make a living too ya know.

Perhaps a better analogy is Northern Pike Minnow. A native predator that is taking advantage of changes man has made in the environment and is heavily hunting our salmon stocks.

That's why there is a bounty on this fine fish, and there should be a corresponding take of their mammalian counterparts, the California sea lion.

We should be reducing the SL population to a level similar to that that existed before the arrival of Europeans. To do this 75 to 90 percent of the population should be exterminated. Either by a bounty, or as in the case of white tail deer on the east coast through a liberal hunting season.

California Sea Lions are magnificent animals. One mounted on my wall with a stuffed fish in its mouth would be great.

[swampy]

koin 6 reports that a sea lion was shot on the Columbia today....state cops planned to put it down but did not for too much media in the area. One man being questioned.

[Blind Squirrel]

Not on their web site yet. However, there was a blurb about "Man steals gun, shoots self in foot."
http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=6388090

Priceless.

[pablofeesh]

Some of the sea lions in the big c should be taken care of, but still in a humane way i would think.

[swampy]

I didn't catch all of it but they they had video from the air. Not on the web yet.

[Blind Squirrel]

Probably tweakers. Can't you just see it? Sea lion hunches his way into the parking lot at a boat ramp, following the hypnotic smells of fresh salmon and boat fuel, and accidentally interrupts a vehicle break in. Wrong place, wrong time.
Dang tweakers.

[Just_learning]

And I am sure this is the type of thread that PETA would love to catch wind of.

[RODACTION]

Originally Posted by swampy

One man being questioned.

I was at work all day and my wife can vouch for me as to where I was at lunch time.

[Salmonator]

Originally Posted by Just_learning

And I am sure this is the type of thread that PETA would love to catch wind of.

I had a mouse get snapped in a trap the other day. If you want to tell them about it to create a diversion I'll take the heat...

[STGRule]

Illegal is illegal. Period. While something definitely needs to be done, vigilante anything only hurts us all in the end. Doing stupid, idiotic illegal things has never been an admirable trait. And only drags the rest of us down.

[fish_on]

It was the government and global warming.

[roadsend]

Originally Posted by STGRule

Illegal is illegal. Period. While something definitely needs to be done, vigilante anything only hurts us all in the end. Doing stupid, idiotic illegal things has never been an admirable trait. And only drags the rest of us down.

You are right.
Although it has nothing to do with conservation or endangered species,
although in reality it is simply a political crime,
although it will probably help salmon to reach their spawning areas,

it is still against the law to shoot a sea lion;

and if we are true sportsmen,
we must obey the law.

That said, although I would not shoot a sea lion, I am conflicted enough on the issue that iin all honesty I would be very unlikely to turn someone in for doing so.

[D-tangle]

According to my sources, there is video footage that has been confiscated and is being 'massaged' by important people to show only what they want us to see. One angle shows a definate darkened figure in an open window with what appears to be a scoped rifle a hundred yards from the victim. Another angle shows something in the bushes near the waterline, a mere 50 feet away. Two distinct angles of trajectory seem to be deflecting the seal's head as it is being hit by the bullets, one from the back and one from the bushes to the side, or the grassy knoll, as it is being referred to. It is purely speculation at this point what the video shows, though. They say only one shot was fired, also. A mystery bullet, of sorts. The video may not be released for years.

[august west]

D-Tangle; now that's funny!

[Jettin' Fool]

Maybe it was Chuck Norris?

I heard his punches do damage like large caliber ammunition.

JF

[salmonslug]

<Partisan comment removed.>

[MattPark]

Originally Posted by salmonslug

<Partisan coment removed>

Tasteless, but that's inevitable around here anymore.

[salmonslug]

Originally Posted by MattPark

Tasteless, but that's inevitable around here anymore.

Tasteless maybe, but then again, that's what I thought about half the other posts.

I think if the many iFish community members that spend their time ranting about the sealions put that energy into restoring riparian habitat, and fighting irrational decrees such as claiming large-scale hydroelectric dams as part of the "immutable landscape", etc, we might actually restore fish populations that support healthy sealion populations, as well as strong commercial AND recreational fisheries. But, oh well, I guess it's just easiest to blame the sealions... nevermind.

And, by the way, there will be no salmon There.

[rip-lightnin]

No I do not believe it was right to shoot the sealion,
yes I do believe that there will be probably an extra 5 to 10 extra salmon, every day, for what would have been the rest of that giant rats life.

[24 on/ 48 off]

I do know that OSP was investigating and possibly interviewed people involved in the Multnomah Channel incident today.

[pablofeesh]

roadsend summed it up good i thought, for me.. though i don't think that any sea lions or seals should be messed with in the salt, they belong there more than we do.

[SteelheadBum2]

Originally Posted by STGRule

Doing stupid, idiotic illegal things has never been an admirable trait. And only drags the rest of us down.

Thats not how our founding fathers saw it. The boston tea party was outrageous and idiotic to the law, but it sent a message. I can't recall who, but one of our founding fathers said, it is in the citizen's best intrest to follow the law, and if they felt the law was unjust, then to break it. Today, that act of throwing tea that wasnt ours into boston harbor is even considered honorable for the fight for liberty. Heck even Rosa Parks broke a "law" by sitting down, and in fact, that actually stood for freedom. Curbing some of the current over populated californian sealion population, is to me considerded a act that sends a message; that this problem is really getting out of hand.

More power to those brave souls who fight for what they believe in. Maybe all this talk about increasing sea lion populations, and people shooting them, may finally grab federal attention. Right now, our sealion problem nothing more than a mere pimple on the body that is america. At least in the eyes of the feds.

[40ishnewbie]

Maybe it's because I'm new to fishing but....can someone explain to me why they feel it is justified to kill an animal because it is feeding itself. Aren't fish the sea lions natural food source? For the vast majority of us fishing, this is a hobby we do for fun and an occasional meal. The sea lion didn't create the problems in the fishery.

I'd like to hear some reasonable explanation as to everyones apparent approval of this, but the fireproof cloth is going up because I don't expect any.....flame on!

Jay

[Jennie@ifish]

40ishnewbie... I have asked Bill that same question.

Now, I'll probably be shot, too. Oh well.

Jen

[riverswild]

My short opinion.......and yes, I know about opinions.
I am not against a critter feeding itself, but I am for keeping an overgrown population in check. Used to be someone would kill a few for substanance or other such reason, now no one hunts them and they are taking over. At least instill the fear of man in them so they are not piling up at the dams or on the local docks.

[pablofeesh]

40ishnewbie, it's golden, go with it. i agree almost 100%, the only problem i see is we (humans) created these dams, which give fish no where to go. we have to protect the fish that we doomed by killing a few problem sea lions, you are on the most realistic track i have heard though

[Deeman]

Originally Posted by 40ishnewbie

Maybe it's because I'm new to fishing but....can someone explain to me why they feel it is justified to kill an animal because it is feeding itself. Aren't fish the sea lions natural food source? For the vast majority of us fishing, this is a hobby we do for fun and an occasional meal. The sea lion didn't create the problems in the fishery.

I'd like to hear some reasonable explanation as to everyones apparent approval of this, but the fireproof cloth is going up because I don't expect any.....flame on!

Jay

I will give it a try. Maybe it is because due to federal law they no longer have fear of man and roam farther upstream then they used to. Maybe it is because the indigenous peoples can no longer hunt them for food because of that same law, or maybe they dont hunt them because there is no active market. Either way they do not get hunted. Maybe it is because their population has been recently estimated at 300,000 year highs. Maybe its because of their numbers they kill more salmon than the ******* or sporties in any given year. And they dont selectively harvest. Or maybe its because most of the IFISH crowd are just blood thirsty, environment killing rednecks who enjoy killing things senselessly. I dont know. I just report. You decide.

[Just_learning]

Originally Posted by Salmonator

I had a mouse get snapped in a trap the other day. If you want to tell them about it to create a diversion I'll take the heat...

Mice arent protected mammals. The person/persons who did this are cowards and anyone willing to stand by them in the illegal act without leaving a name falls in the same category. If you are going to stand up for injustice, the least you can do is stand by it proudly and state your name. Until the person who did it comes forward and admits to it and gives a reason, good or bad I can only think they are a waste.

[BCF]

Originally Posted by Blind Squirrel

Probably tweakers. Can't you just see it? Sea lion hunches his way into the parking lot at a boat ramp, following the hypnotic smells of fresh salmon and boat fuel, and accidentally interrupts a vehicle break in. Wrong place, wrong time.
Dang tweakers.

But alas......being a predator the sealion is a "wolf" the tweakers being addicted to drugs are actually considered "wolfs", so now the sealions and the tweakers are officially a "pack of salmon smoking drug addicts"....now if the State Toopers show up they would be the "Sheepdogs" having never had to herd the "Salmon Smoking Wolfs" before they could only nip at their heals and flippers and let them off with a warning.

It is the law of the land...harsh yes...but it is survival of the fittest.

BCF...no paws, hooves or flippers