December 8, 1999

Fishermen blame declining salmon stocks on marine mammals

By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP Business Writer

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) -- West Coast fishermen fed up with harbor seals and sea lions eating salmon right off their lines are pushing the federal government to let them start shooting at the barky marine mammals.

Recent studies of commercial fishermen in the Monterey Bay show that about 30 percent of the fish on their lines are being eaten by the sea lions and harbor seals which flock to their boats for easy meals.

Commercial fishermen in California, Oregon and Washington say that data, coupled with a booming sea lion population and declining salmon counts, make it necessary to return to pre-1994 policies, which allowed them to shoot marine mammals taking their fish.

In addition, they say the Coast Guard, harbor patrols and game wardens should be instructed to keep the populations under control.

"We're talking about a big furry animal that everyone loves to look at and a slithery animal that many people say is just a fish, but we have to protect the one that's diminishing even if it isn't the cutest," said Rich Hughett, executive director of the Fisherman's Alliance of California.

But fisheries scientist Donald Alley said fishermen are pointing their finger at an easy target when they blame sea lions and seals for salmon's problems.

"I personally wouldn't want to have the blood on my hands for all those sea lions," he said.

Populations of California sea lions and Pacific harbor seals -- protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act -- have increased from 80,000 to more than 250,000 during the past decade, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. At the same time, salmon stocks have dropped so sharply that earlier this year several species went on the endangered list.

The sea lions and seals -- rarely seen in the 1950s -- can now be found at many river mouths as well as under many West Coast piers, where tourists drop them tit bits and snap their photos. They've also been known to make pests of themselves, scrambling onto fishing boats, biting people on beaches and hanging around river mouths to nab migrating fish.

But environmentalists and ocean advocates say the key to saving salmon is not reducing marine mammals. Instead, they say additional limits need to be placed on people logging along creeks with hatcheries and drawing water from stream habitats for building developments.

"There's no doubt that seals and sea lions eat salmon, but there's no consensus that they are the cause of the declining numbers," said Kaitilin Gaffney of the Center for Marine Conservation.

Next spring Congress will reconsider the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In anticipation of those hearings, state officials in California, Oregon and Washington, as well as some local leaders, have been pushing federal officials to drop sea lion and harbor seal protections.

The debate continued Tuesday in Santa Cruz, Calif., when the county Board of Supervisors refused requests from local fishermen to endorse a resolution asking Congress to remove sea lions and harbor seals from the protected list.

"What we have here is competition for salmon between humans and sea lions, and I think the specter of humans killing sea lions makes that competition a little unfair," said Santa Cruz County supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt.

Supervisor Jeff Almquist said humans are to blame for the clash between species.

"I'm not willing to endorse shooting sea lions so fishermen can get a 20 percent larger take," he said.

But Monterey Bay fisherman Thomas Canale said he and his colleagues could be out of the business if the federal government doesn't step in.

"We're not looking for an open season on sea lions," he said. "We're looking for scientists to come up with something to control the population."