Species battle pits protected sea lions against fragile fish

https://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Sea-lions-gobbling-fragile-fish-in-US-Northwest-12772448.php?utm_source=sfgate&utm_medium=hp&utm_campaign=hpsci

Sea lions vs salmon and steelhead? That's a tough choice... NOT!

I had a girlfriend once and when I would get worked up over what we had done to the planet, she would say "don't worry, in a million years, no one will ever know we were here".

Wildlife managment, = oxymoron, yet we keep trying

This issue's been the talk of the town up here in the PNW.  While I agree with the marine mammal groups that other issues are the main drivers for salmon/steelhead declines (habitat loss and degradation, dams, etc.), when we're talking about species that are immediately on the brink of extinction with only a few hundred individuals left in existence, every fish counts and immediate action is necessary.  We'd be kidding ourselves to think of hydroelectric dam removal and habitat restoration as "immediate" actions.  Sometimes we can't wait for the next hand and need to work with the cards we were dealt...one of which is to reduce sea lion predation and keep these fish hanging on until their situation improves.

Thanks Howard. I cringe at the thought of a time when there are no Steelhead. I I hope I don't live to see that day.

This issue's been the talk of the town up here in the PNW.  While I agree with the marine mammal groups that other issues are the main drivers for salmon/steelhead declines (habitat loss and degradation, dams, etc.), when we're talking about species that are immediately on the brink of extinction with only a few hundred individuals left in existence, every fish counts and immediate action is necessary.  We'd be kidding ourselves to think of hydroelectric dam removal and habitat restoration as "immediate" actions.  Sometimes we can't wait for the next hand and need to work with the cards we were dealt...one of which is to reduce sea lion predation and keep these fish hanging on until their situation improves.

I agree with your thoughts but am frustrated knowing that addressing the fundamental environmental factors driving steelhead and other species to the brink are off the table.  I look forward to the day when we have more than bad choices. 

Which brings me to another choice we need to make here in Northern CA and would be interested in your thoughts:  If we care about steelhead and salmon in the Sacramento/ San Joaquin systems, shouldn’t we be killing every striper we catch?  My understanding is they have a giant buffet for salmon/steelhead smolts in the delta. 


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Which brings me to another choice we need to make here in Northern CA and would be interested in your thoughts:  If we care about steelhead and salmon in the Sacramento/ San Joaquin systems, shouldn’t we be killing every striper we catch?  My understanding is they have a giant buffet for salmon/steelhead smolts in the delta. 

This exact proposal came up a few years back.  California proposed relaxing fishing restrictions on stripers, something like a 6-fish limit and 12-inch minimum size limit (I don't remember the specifics).  The uproar from the sportfishing community was enough to convince the state to abandon the proposal.  The argument from the sportfishing community was that stripers have co-existed with salmon in the Central Valley for over a hundred years, and there were plenty of good salmon returns over that span, so therefore stripers were being used as a scapegoat to blame for low salmon returns.

I agree that stripers are not one of the primary drivers for salmon declines.  However, they are a non-native species that eat a lot of salmon and lamprey and all sorts of other critters that may also be listed under the ESA.  Unfortunately for the salmon, stripers bring a lot of benefits to people: we really like targeting and catching stripers, we buy gear and tackle to fish for them, we book guided trips to target them, etc.  The Sacramento River and Delta would be much quieter places if it weren't for the spring and fall striper runs to attract people who are willing to spend money in those river- and Delta-side communities.  What's left is that fisheries managers have to walk a tight-rope trying to balance the needs of fish and the needs/wants of people.