U.S. Senators Jim Risch of Idaho and Maria Cantwell of Washington are crossing party lines to bring legislation aimed at restoring spring-run Chinook and other fish populations through better management of sea lions.
The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to give state and tribal managers more flexibility in addressing predatory sea lions in the Columbia River system that are threatening ESA-listed salmon and steelhead.
Risch, a Republican says salmon consumption by sea lions at the Bonneville Dam is five times what it was five years ago. Cantwell, a Democrat, added that predation of ESA-listed fish is negating the large investments being spent on salmon recovery associated with habitat, harvest, and hatcheries.
If enacted, the bill would provide for better management of the invasive, non-listed sea lions, which gather at the mouth of the Columbia and at Bonneville Dam to feed on the fish. (Idaho Sen. Jim Risch)
