Gang, I'm sure that some of you in the lower portion of your state have or do enjoy the fishery on the Columbia river.  

If you havn't heard, we've got a pretty serious problem with the sea lions clear up to Bonneville dam right now.  Last year, at the peak of the spring salmon run there was over 100 sea lions just below the dam feasting themselves.  Sea lions 180 miles out of the ocean is not normal.  Sea lions that go thru the fish ladder and go above the dam is not normal either.  

On Sunday the 2nd my dad, who has guided for sturgeon on the Columbia now for 6 years, watched 3 oversized fish being eaten by sea lions.  3 seperate incidents in 2 different areas of the river miles apart.  Keep in mind, if the fish is oversized (over 60") that fish is probably over 60 years old and is just now getting to the point where they will reproduce.  With the salmon numbers being down this year, the sea lions are hitting the sturgeon pretty hard.

I've spoken to the folks in OR at the Salem and Clackamas office of the Dept of fish and wildlife.  They are "on top of it" and have alot of footage documented.  If this goes thru the normal channels it's gonna take a few more years for the feds to decide what to do and by that time it's gonna be too late.

Today I sent an email to my congressman and senator about the issue.  I was also given a name in my senator's office back in DC to speak to about this as well.  I intend to be a PIA to these folks untill something is taken care of.  If you get a minute, make a call or write an email, fax a letter, send a smoke signal.  Something needs to happen soon.  I'm sure that those of us who fish in OR are not alone in this.

Thanks!
Link to OR hometown thread on the same

Quoted: Just shoot the damn things and be done with it.

SSS

Shoot....Sink....Smile  (that's for offshore in the fog)

Buddy of mine lost a nice fish on Sat on the Columbia to one.  Suppressed 10/22 might work well.

Must be getting somewhere, made the news again

Quoted: Update: KATU News Story Days may be numbered for problem sea lions By Brian Barker and KATU.com Web Staff BONNEVILLE DAM - Despite bombs, boats and rubber bullets, dozens of sea lions are continuing to kill salmon near the Bonneville Dam. This month, biologists are trying one last time to scare off the problem sea lions, but if that doesn't work, they may try to kill them. Sea lions could kill as much as 10 percent of this spring's salmon run and biologists say if they cannot get the problem solved soon, the situation could get ugly. The sea lions are just doing what comes naturally - finding a way to keep their bellies full. The problem is that the salmon are disappearing. An estimated 8,000 salmon will be lost this spring at Bonneville Dam. State wildlife officials are mounting an aggressive effort to scare the sea lions away from the dam. The effort is their last stab at solving the problem before they will have to consider killing the sea lions. "The difficult part about it is we're trying to save the endangered salmon as they are going up past the dam, but you've got the Marine Mammal Protection Act that protects these marine mammals," says Bob Stansell, a Biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers. The biggest violator is sea lion C-404. He has managed to penetrate the fish ladder at Bonneville Dam. Biologists say there are nearly 1,000 other sea lions hunting salmon in the Columbia River and they could conceivably kill 10 percent of the fish that come through the dam. If the sea lions cannot be scared off, Oregon's Fish and Wildlife Commission has already applied for a permit to kill some of the problem sea lions, like C-404. Killing the sea lions would be a last resort, but the idea is certainly a controversial one. "Because they're so cute," says tourist Kristin Zubel. "They're not hurting anybody and there should be plenty of fish to go around." The efforts to harass the sea lions enough to scare them away from Bonneville Dam will last through May.