Feds Revoke Authorization to Kill Sea Lions

How We Won

Jul 26, 2011

In May 2011, Federal Officials authorized Washington and Oregon to kill as many as 255 sea lions at the Bonneville Dam. Their crime? Eating salmon.

Outraged by the decision, an activist started a petition on Change.org and quickly gathered more than 2,000 signatures protesting the killing of sea lions. Not only are sea lions protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but killing them wouldn't help salmon populations since sea lions catch far fewer of the fish than human fishermen. The Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish Conservancy and two citizens stepped in and filed suit to stop the killings.

In July 2011, the National Marine Fisheries Service reversed its authorization, saving the Bonneville Dam sea lions. Jonathan R. Lovvorn, senior vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation for The HSUS, said they're delighted with the decision. “It’s time to face the fact that killing sea lions doesn’t do anything for salmon, and focus instead on real salmon conservation threats, like hydropower and commercial fishing.”

Washington and Oregon won authorization from NOAA -  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - to kill sea lions eating salmon at the Bonneville Dam.

Please, ask NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to accept that Sea Lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Protecion Act, and therefore, they should not allow fishermen to kill them.

Tell NOAA as well as Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife Department
to change their decision now!

"Sea lion predation represents only 2.4 percent of the salmon run this year", said Sharon Young, marine mammal issues field director for the Humane Society.

The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit to protect the sea lions in 2008 - and won. We are happy to announce that they filed a new lawsuit again today, May 20, 2011.

We hope that all our efforts will help to stop killings of Sea Lions.

We are the ones who are overfishing our waters and, therefore, we should adopt new rules for reasonable fishing instead of killing innocent animals:

"Man-made dams and reservoirs threaten salmon numbers in the wild by blocking their paths, creating obstacles for young salmon heading for the ocean and adult salmon returning to their spawning grounds. Overfishing, habitat loss, and a number of changing environmental conditions also continue to affect many salmon populations. For instance, rising river temperatures have been connected to an increase in marine illnesses that adversely affect salmon growth."

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/salmon-running-the-gauntlet/salmon-facts/6558/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/16/sea-lion-killing-oregon-washington_n_862496.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/13/us-sealions-oregon-idUSTRE74C7AI20110513

In addition to signing the petition, you can also contact officials at:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Washington, DC 20230
email:  pr.webmaster@noaa.gov

Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department 
The ODFW Commission
3406 Cherry Avenue N.E.
Salem, OR 97303-4924 email: odfw.info@state.or.us

Washington Fish and Wildlife Department
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia, WA 98501-1091
director@dfw.wa.gov

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