Change the dialog to pinnipeds vs. Orca and the adverse impact of pinnipeds on Chinook takes a different tone although still with controversy.

Here is a link to an article regarding the magnitude of pinniped predation on Puget Sound Chinook: http://www.cbbulletin.com/439144.aspx. That link includes a link to the actual article which is extremely detailed but the abstract paints a pretty clear picture.

Even with that information and the Governor's creation of an Orca emergency Task Force the Task Force's Prey Working Group seems unable to include a pinniped culling recommendation to the Task Force as a possible course of action. That observation comes after sitting through the Prey Working Group's meeting in Ridgefield on Monday.

My assessment based upon the numbers is that reduction of pinniped numbers in Puget Sound is the shortest/quickest path to increasing adequate Chinook for Orcas.