Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: There are 13 groups of salmon and steelhead that are listed as threatened species or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) that migrate through the lower Columbia River. All lower Columbia River tributaries contain listed species, including Chinook, Chum, and Coho salmon and winter-run steelhead. The people of the Northwest of the United States are united in their desire to restore healthy salmon and steelhead runs because the fish are integral to the culture and economy of the region.
The Columbia River Treaty tribes retain important rights with respect to salmon and steelhead. Federal, State, and tribal governments have spent billions of dollars to assist the recovery of salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia River basin. One of the factors that negatively impacts salmonid populations is increased predation by marine mammals, including California sea lions. As of June 2017, the population of California sea lions has increased 10-fold during the last 30 years, and is approximately 300,000 animals.
Biologists estimate that in recent years, during the peak spring salmonid run, as many as 3,000 California sea lions have been foraging in the lower 145 miles of the Columbia River to the Bonneville Dam. Historically, California sea lions, the habitat of which is fundamentally salt water, did not venture very far up into the Columbia River. The percentage of the spring salmonid run that has been eaten or killed by California sea lions at the Bonneville Dam has increased 7-fold since 2002.
The Columbia River spring chinook and the Willamette River steelhead are salmonid species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) as an endangered species and a threatened species, respectively. Federal, State and tribal estimates indicate that sea lions are consuming at least 20 percent of the Columbia River spring chinook run and 15 percent of Willamette River steelhead run. In recent years, California sea lions have congregated with greater frequency near Willamette Falls and the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River and have entered the fish ladders that salmon use to return to the historical and biological spawning grounds of the salmon.
These California sea lions have not been responsive to extensive hazing methods used to discourage predation. The process established under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Amendments of 1994 ( Public Law 103–238 ; 108 Stat. 532) to address predatory sea lion behavior that negatively impacts threatened or endangered salmon runs is protracted and has not been successful. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has observed that— management efforts to reduce pinniped predation of endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in the area around the Bonneville Dam has been insufficient to reduce the severity of the threat; and efforts need to focus more on the lower Columbia River and the area around Willamette Falls.
In the interest of protecting threatened and endangered salmonids in the Columbia River, a temporary expedited procedure is urgently needed to allow removal of the minimum number of California sea lions as is necessary to protect the passage of the threatened and endangered salmonids in the Columbia River and its tributaries.
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- Pub. L. 103-238
- 108 Stat. 532
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