Protection of sea lions shouldn't extend too far.

Byline: INSIDE THE OUTDOORS By Mike Stahlberg The Register-Guard

Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife departments have agreed to crack down on sea lions in the Columbia River and - if increased hazing doesn't work - to pursue the lethal removal of "problem animals."

Fishermen should welcome the move. Wildlife lovers may equate it to the bludgeoning of baby harp seals for their fur. Don't buy that.

This is simply an attempt to address a difficult situation in which one federally protected species threatens to do serious harm to other protected species.

According to Oregon and Washington biologists, an estimated 500 to 1,000 California sea lions flocked to the Columbia River last year, devouring spring chinook salmon en route to their spawning grounds.

Despite attempts to drive them off with fireworks and noisemakers, some sea lions made their way into the Bonneville Dam fish ladder, which essentially funneled fish into their mouths.

This year, sea lions have been observed also killing adult female sturgeon.

"The Columbia River supports the largest healthy white sturgeon population in the world," said Steve Williams, acting head of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's fish division. "Sea lions have the potential to severely deplete mature female sturgeon, which are their preferred prey. Those sturgeon represent the future of the species."

In a report to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, biologists estimated sea lions could kill about 10 percent of this year's already-scanty run of spring chinook - projected to be only 88,000 fish.

Several species of Columbia River fish are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Sea lions are covered by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

But fisheries managers say the time has come to step between predator and prey.

"Sea lion predation in the Columbia River is clearly a persistent problem that appears to be getting worse, and we need to explore every option available to resolve it," said Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"We're concerned about balance. In the Columbia River, an overly robust population of California sea lions is preying on weak populations of wild salmon and steelhead. We need to pursue an active management approach that restores balance to the river system."

From the 1920s until 1972, there was a bounty on sea lions in Oregon, and the state and Washington state had a hunter who was paid to kill them.

Since passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, sea lions have had nothing to limit their numbers other than killer whales. So populations have increased tremendously in Oregon, said Robin Brown of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's marine mammal program. The population of steller sea lions, the type that dominates the Sea Lion Cave attraction near Florence, has tripled along the Oregon Coast, from 2,000 animals to 6,000.

Meanwhile, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 California sea lions come north to Oregon each year. That species is more of a pest to fishermen, sometimes snatching salmon off the hooks of anglers fishing the estuaries of coastal rivers.

Biologists say an adult sea lion will eat five to seven salmon a day.

In an effort to cut salmon losses, Oregon and Washington officials agreed they will use "every hazing method available to us under federal law, including acoustic and percussive devices, flares and rubber bullets," Williams said.

Hazing activities began over the weekend in the 12 miles of river below Bonneville. The two states' fish and wildlife agencies are conducting the hazing in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Bonneville Dam.

Meanwhile, both states will seek federal authority - and funding - to remove a select number of problem sea lions from the river, should hazing not prove successful.

Removing sea lions - which could include both lethal and nonlethal methods - must be approved by the NMFS, the federal agency that manages sea lions under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Even if approval is granted, don't expect a quick fix to the problem, said Marla Rae, chairman of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission.

"This process is neither quick, nor a good permanent fix," she said. "Resolving the sea lion issue and protecting Oregon's fish stocks will require an act of Congress, not an act of this commission."

Protecting marine mammals in a marine environment is one thing. To extend that protection 140 miles from the ocean, which is how far the sea lions must swim to reach Bonneville Dam, is unnecessary and ridiculous.

Mike Stahlberg can be reached at [e-mail].

CAPTION(S):

A sea lion sits on the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam in March, looking for an easy meal.