But it won’t be pretty: poles, gaffs, squeeze traps, cages and more will be needed to isolate, contain, restrain, kill and remove the animals from what is their natural habitat. The sea lions are after all only doing what comes naturally, as they follow succulent salmon to dams that create bottlenecks that make the fish easy pickings.
Interesting.
"natural habitat" in one sentence then
"dams that create bottlenecks that make the fish easy pickings"
That's some smart writing there.
There's
nothing natural left about the Columbia and Snake systems anymore. An argument might be made for the section downstream of Bonneville Dam, but even that has been altered in many ways.
At least the article pointed out that there has been ongoing lethal removal of certain CA sea lions. Different set of rules for the Stellar's that moved in a few years back.
Having worked for 7-8 years on that system, I'd hazard a guess that optics and safety are two big reasons their not going to use firearms. Optics because it will be readily apparent to the ninnies that someone is shooting "seals". Safety because one stray shot causing injury, death, or even property damage to a home, tug boat, barge, or a homeless shanty would end that program quickly.
Don't be so fast to blame "the biologists". Again, having worked there for a bit, many (if not most? ) of the salmon and sturgeon biologists realized the need to lethally remove some animals. Politics what they are, their wishes and biological facts and opinions are not always implementable.
I always hoped they'd just get some of the Native folks to get to harpooning some. Bring down some of the seal/sea lion eating folks from up North if they have to, the Columbia tribes did not seem to have those critters as a big part of their diets.
Someone mentioned boot leather. Seems I've heard of some nice water/snow proof mukluks being made from them skins. Of course, that would be too much for the ninnies to accept.
Expect lawsuits to delay these killings.
