Stranded, emaciated and dehydrated sea lion pups will soon dot California’s coasts. This year, about 70 percent of sea lion pups are expected to die before weaning age (around April).

Sea lion pups will starve to death. These iconic ocean animals depend on fatty forage fish, such as sardines and anchovies, as an important part of their diet, particularly for nursing mothers or newly-weaned pups foraging on their own. But there aren’t enough forage fish to go around -- the sardine population has precipitously crashed 74 percent since 2007 with no evidence of recovery.

We can’t look away while these marine animals suffer and die when poor fishery management decisions have contributed to this major problem.

Sign our petition asking the Pacific Fishery Management Council to immediately establish appropriate safeguards to protect these important forage species and the sea lions that depend on them.