U.S. aims to save salmon

[goalie]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293894_salmon28.html


To save salmon, states want to kill sea lions

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- The states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho asked the federal government Monday for permission to kill sea lions eating salmon and steelhead at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

Fish and wildlife agencies from the three states joined to formally seek permission to use lethal force under terms of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The request does not include Steller's sea lions, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act. The request will be considered by a task force of state and federal agencies, tribes, scientists, conservation and fishing groups in a review process that could take several years.

A bill is pending in Congress to quickly give permits to kill problem sea lions to the states and Indian tribes.

While waiting for a decision, Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife crews will increase hazing efforts to seven days a week during the peak of the spring chinook return next March. Techniques include throwing firecrackers at the sea lions, playing loud noises and chasing them with boats.

 

[victoriaboater]

I guess putting a stop to overfishing makes too much sense for the Americans.

 

[Last Chance]

quote:
While waiting for a decision, Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife crews will increase hazing efforts to seven days a week during the peak of the spring chinook return next March. Techniques include throwing firecrackers at the sea lions, playing loud noises and chasing them with boats.

Yep, if a few seals eating salmon like they have been for the last gazillion years is harmfull, I am sure throwing explosives, loud noise, and running jet boats into and through the spawning grounds must help!

 

[Morty]

That's interesting that the article states the Columbian run of Springs peaks in March? pretty early-I would have figured June.
I can't beleive those godam seals make all the way to Idaho!

 

[Slabby20]

Intersting subject. There are more than a "few seals eating salmon". Over a 1000 Sea lions were in the Columbia River this past season and that's only one river. From what I have read, sea lions eat over 50 lbs a day and an average of 1 1/2 to 2 salmon a day just to maintain there metabolism. Let's say there are over 1000 of them in the Columbia River for a very conservative 30 days (probably much longer). That would mean 45,000 to 60,000 salmon eaten. What runs can sustain that hit year after year? These sea lions are so spoiled by their buffet swimming by every day that the same ones return to the same river year after year and bring new friends. I just read a report that the number of California Sea Lions on the west coast has gone from 50,000 25 years ago to over 300,000. If you do the math that means close to 600,000 fish coast wide. They are federally protected and there has been a population explosion. I don't really know what the answer is but it's getting worse every year. No question that there are probably bigger issues like habitat, mis-management of stocks, overfishing etc but the Sea Lions are certainly a part of it. Are they as big problem up the coast of BC? I'd be interetsed in what you think should be done, if anything or whether you even think there is a problem at all.

Thanks great site and comments

 

[wetbeaver]

so let me get this right at 300,000 sealions eating about 1 and a half to 2 fish per day that equals like 450,000-600,000 fish per day. what else do these c##ck s##kers eat because that is crazy!! That doesnt even include the seal population or does it?

 

[powder]

I,m no sealion lover but I do know they eat 6% to 8% of their body weight per day, consisting of herring, pollock, hake, dogfish, rockfish, squid, octopus, and yes salmon.

 

[Brokenrod]

They should be able to keep the sea lions from going that far up the river.That's a friken long ways.
Letting the sea lions kill those fish,after coming that far needs some serious consideration.

 

[5-Salt Fever]

Long time in coming but perhaps too little, too late

As to the overfishing question, its no secret that the majority of Oregon, Washington and Columbia river salmon reside in Canadian and Alaskan waters for most their adult life. Regrettably as the Oregon, Washington and Idaho regulatory agencies have near zero impact on overfishing in Canadian/Alaskan waters and neither country has been able to reach and abide to harvest treaties, over fish continues to be a problem. Oregon/Washington/Idaho, has completely banned all fishing for Native Salmon and Steelhead but until Alaska and BC commercial harvest is dramatically reduced overfishing will continue be a problem.

The Spring Run of Chinook (Springers) looking for protection from sealions are listed as an endanger species with their harvest prohibited since the late 70's.

Springers run Feb-May remaining in the Columbia river tributaries and Oregon coastal rivers until Aug/Sept, spawning just prior to the arrival of summer and fall run chinook. Historically, Spring Chinook are the most sought after of all salmon species due to their exceptional taste and high fat content - highest of all salmon species.

The Sealions sit directly below and in the fish latters of the Bonniville Dam, feeding on Spring Chinook as they migrate up river. Sealoins, another endangered species, require congressional permission to be killed or harvested by all but First Nations. Since their listing as endangered in the 1970's, Sealion populations have recovered to a level well above their historical population levels of those estimate to exist in the early 1800's. Getting any species delisted from the Endanger Species is near impossible due to legal action from enviromental groups thus our seeking permission for their detruction - only to save another endangered species.

Ultimately the decline of Springers and other "listed" Columbia, Oregon and northern California salmon can be attributed to over harvert thoughout the 1900's Alaska to California, reduction of prime habitat due to over-logging,population growth, and polution, construction of hydro-eletric dams, and introduction of hatchery fish stocks competing for available food and habitat of the native salmon populations.

Hydroelectric dams widely regarded as the number one killers of salmon after over harvest, killing a reported 50% of the young salmon making their way to the oceans every spring and summer.
As a result, there is a major push to remove 6 dams along the Columbia river system. Proposed are the removal of 4 dams on the Snake river, 1 dam on the Clackamas river in Oregon and the already approved removal of the Hood River dam just outside of Portland on the Oregon side of the Columbia river. The Clack, Hood, and Snake river dams all closed off prime Springer and Coho spawning grounds, effectively reducing population numbers to that of 1-2% of their historical levels.

Short story long, salmon recovery will ultimately require action on multiple fronts with Sealion destruction playing small but critcal role in the recovery of Columbia and Snake River Spring Run Chinook Salmon.

 

[Pablo2079]

I thought one of the main problems is that the dams make a perfect location for the Sea Lions to hunt the salmon. The salmon have to deal with the bottleneck and actually try and figure out the fish ladder. Since the salmon naturally go for the highest flow, the fish ladder really doesn't present itself immediately as the "right way to go" for the salmon. I wonder if the fish ladders could be redesigned to reduce the bottleneck and subsequently reduce the Sea Lion predation??

Has there been any discussion of adding fish ladders to some of the dams (like the Grand Coulee) that cut off huge spawning areas in NE Washington and Southern BC?

 

[5-Salt Fever]

quote:Originally posted by Pablo2079

I thought one of the main problems is that the dams make a perfect location for the Sea Lions to hunt the salmon. The salmon have to deal with the bottleneck and actually try and figure out the fish ladder. Since the salmon naturally go for the highest flow, the fish ladder really doesn't present itself immediately as the "right way to go" for the salmon. I wonder if the fish ladders could be redesigned to reduce the bottleneck and subsequently reduce the Sea Lion predation??

Has there been any discussion of adding fish ladders to some of the dams (like the Grand Coulee) that cut off huge spawning areas in NE Washington and Southern BC?

Good point and there were some modification made to latter entrances etc... but now the sealions have begun to take up residense in the fish latter with mouths wide open and waiting. No amount of legal harrasment short of a Frist Nation shooting the buggers has seemed to have any impact.

Trouble makers have been trapped and shipped back to Southern California only to have them show back up 10-14days later. As well in the absence of Springers the sealions have developed a taste for oversized Sturgeon.

Why not protected, Sturgeon over 2meters are considered breeders and cannot be harvested. Springtime also happens to be the time Sturgeon enter Columbia river system in pursuit of Shad and Smelt runs so they are readily available to sealions. And like the Springers, they to too keg up below the dam.

I say remove the dams and you remove the problem but that solution is 50years off at best. Safe Nuke power would be the first step and well who knows when and if that reality will arrive.

Side note:- as a condition of their operating license the Bonniville Power Adminstration (BPA) annualy spends $270-280million to mitigate salmon damage caused by the dam's operations. Hatchery operations, the trucking of salmon (both directions) around dams, Sealion measures, and retrofitting special intake filters to prevent smolt ingestion receive the majority of those funds.

 

[the runt]

salt fever you make excellent points.I live on a river that used to have a great fisheries.People can say what they want,but on our river,the nets have to go.This is a small river that i can easily throw a rock across,it's starts in the salt about a mile from the mouth dragging shore to about a hundred meters out.Then the nets in the mouth begin staggerd these start about in 10 ft. of water to about 2 ft. at high tide at low tide they are all exposed.then for the next 20 miles the boys use eddy nets for the holes.then they runa drift net down the center this small river supports 2 tribes,do i blame them not really, like most tribes they don't want to leave the res.One of my buddies told me they had abounty on seals 25.00 a nose.One more point whe the nets are out the fish come back in a couple of days,we hooked and released 24 coho in 1 day,nets returned no fish, skunky back in the boat.I'm not against commercial fishing but use long lines like i saw in ucuellet.They still have to bite.I feel they want to net, take away their motors, nylon nets, fiberglass boats,then have at it.If people say i'm a racist i'm not this goes for anyone who uses nets.

 

[saltybeaver]

(take away their motors, nylon nets, fiberglass boats)

Heard that before and couldn't agree more. See how many natives go out in a canoe !

 

[Pablo2079]

At least they're removing the two dams on the Elwha river:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001998230_elwha06m.html

Hopefully it can be pointed to as a success story and a reason to dismantle more of them. Unfortunately, the dams in Eastern Washington provide irrigation water for the crops out there along with the power... Even if we get some good Fusion power to replace the lost hydro generation, the irrigation water will still be needed.

Just seems like the whole design of the dams needs to be revisited with the health of the river in mind....

As for the First Nations, they should only get to use modern fishing nets/boats if they obtain a commercial license. I don't think any of the treaties specify the way in which they can catch the fish... to the contrary... I believe the spirit of the treaty is that their historical fishing rights/practices not be abridged....

 

[Fishinnut]

unfortunately here in the US Political Science is used to run our fisheries instead of biological science. I belong to the Puget Sound Anglers and we are always going head to head to save our resource and get a share of our sportfishing. Here in the US the commercials have spent over a century winding themselves into all of the fisheries to protect themselves. We can't undo it over night but are still trying. As far as the Sealions in the Columbia River, they have no preditor and have learned they can sit in the fish ladders and eat the fish as they come through. Most of the time they eat the bellies and spit the rest. When the salmon didn't show on the Columbia River they started killing the oversized sturgeon. No one believed they would take one until a lady videotaped it and sent it to the news. Its really sad.

At least BC has in the past shut down the fishing when it was on a downturn. Here the commercials will fish it till they kill the last fish.

 

[Pablo2079]

Fishinnut - Maybe it's a case of the "grass is always greener". Washington seems to have done a better job with the hatcheries and enforcement of the regs. Fortunately, in BC, the salmon rivers haven't been dammed as extensively. We're fortunate that the Fraser wasn't turned into a series of ponds like the Columbia. I doubt that our regulations are driven by biological science any more than Washington or Oregon's. As for Alaska, it almost seems like they target non-Alaskan stocks for commercial openings. Who knows though.... this stuff sure can get depressing! [xx(]

 

[Pablo2079]

Here's some more good news about rehabilitating a Coho stream that used to have a 30 foot dam blocking 25 miles of habitat.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003498356_dam28m.html

quote:Then, five years ago, with the rumble of bulldozers and backhoes, the dam was taken down. Today the descendants of those earlier salmon now splash through a series of riffles and gradual stair steps where the dam once stood, free to pass on to spawn in a 25-mile network of streams.

and another article on 7 dams in Washington/Oregon slated for removal beginning next year. Rivers affected include:

Elwha
White Salmon
Sandy
Rogue
Hood

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003498360_damside28m.html

quote:The first to go will be the Marmot and Little Sandy dams on the Sandy River near Portland, expected to come down next year.

 

[Karlo]

The big problem with dams is the young fish going downstream. They tend to slide down in reverse on the current,and that too often puts them in a turbine, rather than th far less detectable ladder. You can pull the dams out of the top of a river system, and gain little if there's a dam lower down that pulverizes the fry. It's really interesting what's happening on the Klamath River system in California. Irrigation "needs" are being pitted against fish needs in a way that looks like the fish might actually win for once, and the dams that exist for giant agribusiness to grow heavily subsidized desert cotton might be on their way out.

As a BC guy, I'm glad that Lower 48 types realize that BC and Alaska can decimate your runs, because BC is at the mercy of Alaska, and a few years ago, we got sideswiped pretty hard by their refusal to limit their catch of our fish in a weak year. If tit for tat games start being played, BC can retaliate against Oregon and Washington for the greed of Alaska, but nobody who cares about salmon would want to see that. Speak to your Alaska fisherfriends about the benefits of conservation.

 

[Pablo2079]

What dams in BC could be considered for removal that would benefit the salmon? Are there any small ones that were built long ago for the logging industry similar to the one removed in Washington State?

 

[Pablo2079]

Here's an update on the dam removal.

quoteuring the dam removal process (expected to last five years), an estimated 18 million cubic yards of sediment currently trapped behind the two dams will be released into the water column.

http://www.northwestenergyandenvironment.com/Archives/212076.aspx