Sea Lion Hazing to Resume at Bonneville

Washington and Oregon officials will begin non-lethal hazing of sea lions on the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam to protect sturgeon.

The hazing uses acoustic and percussive devices, flares and rubber bullets.

It will occur from Bonneville Dam downstream to navigation marker 85, a distance of about six miles.

Hazing has been somewhat effective in deterring predation by Steller sea lions, which account for most of the sturgeon lost below the dam, said Charlie Corrarino of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Steller sea lions ate more than 350 sturgeon near Bonneville last winter, but took only 19 after hazing began in March, according the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Fifty-five of the sturgeon killed in 2007 were longer than five feet.

Steller sea lions have been observed near Bonneville Dam since early October, said Sandra Jonker, regional wildlife program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Hazing by state boat crews is scheduled at least four days per week during daylight. Crews from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will haze sea lions from the face of the dam on a similar schedule.

Steller sea lions can be deterred by non-lethal hazing, but that is not the case with the smaller California sea lions, which feed mostly on salmon and steelhead, Jonker said.

Observations by the Corps of Engineers indicate the number of California sea lions and their rate of predation on salmon and steelhead have increased in recent years.

Washington, Oregon and Idaho are seeking federal approval to use lethal means to remove individual California sea lions at Bonneville Dam.

Federal fisheries officials are expected to conduct an environmental review on the states’ application and make a final decision by March, about the time spring chinook salmon arrive at Bonneville.

The lethal hazing would not apply to Steller sea lions, which are protected under federal law.

Originally published by The Columbian.

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