Originally Posted By: Cirrhosis-of-the-river

...
But theres no motivation to implement management other than the hostile claim from fishermen that sea lions and seals are eating "our" salmon. No-one cares.

Seals/Sea lions have an impact on salmon, some of which are protected themselves- most of which are dwindling in numbers by historical comparison. But I cant say I completely disagree with the unpopular opinion that anglers/commercial fisheries/consumers need make the sacrifice to protect the populations of fish prior to the extermination of a predator that relies on them for food- because from a neutral standpoint, its hypocritical for anglers to site the cause for killing sea lions as "sea lions kill endangered/protected salmon"... when we are killing them too.

Im not riding a fence with carnivore instinct on one side, and a love of all things on the other. I love to fish I love to eat fish. But Ive accepted the fact that the resource is faced with huge challenges that are not the result of sea lions and seals eating.
So who can realistically look at either for a remedy? Especially when over-harvest combined with continued habitat destruction/loss keeps predation on the far back-burner... where it belongs IMO.




If Seals Sealions, & Orcas etc actually WERE responsible for the decline of salmon they would have driven Salmon to extinction millions of years ago, before humans ever got to North America, less than 60,000 years ago.

Unless I'm sorely mistaken, before the dams were built, the watersheds were clearcut, and commercial nets were put in place, the salmon were doing just fine. Even WITH Injuns spearing them in slat-traps, eagles & comorants picking them off and sea lions gobbling them up.