Lots of lip service being paid but do they have the spine to make the hard decisions? It should be clear that I have grave concerns/doubts that they have what it takes. It should also be clear that NOAA/NMFS has been remiss (at the least) w/r/t the impact of the MMPA on recovery of Puget Sound ESA listed Chinook and, correspondingly, Orca recovery.

Here is the link to the published results of the study of pinniped predation on P.S. Chinook: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0203#.WzPjMadKgdV.

And here is the Abstract:

"ABSTRACT
Conflicts can arise when the recovery of one protected species limits the recovery of another through competition or predation. The recovery of many marine mammal populations on the west coast of the United States has been viewed as a success; however, within Puget Sound in Washington State, the increased abundance of three protected pinniped species may be adversely affecting the recovery of threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca) within the region. Between 1970 and 2015, we estimate that the annual biomass of Chinook salmon consumed by pinnipeds has increased from 68 to 625 metric tons. Converting juvenile Chinook salmon into adult equivalents, we found that by 2015, pinnipeds consumed double that of resident killer whales and six times greater than the combined commercial and recreational catches. We demonstrate the importance of interspecific interactions when evaluating species recovery. As more protected species respond positively to recovery efforts, managers should attempt to evaluate tradeoffs between these recovery efforts and the unintended ecosystem consequences of predation and competition on other protected species."

Even if this report is only reasonably close in terms of numbers the impact is huge. Reduce the pinniped population in half and that should provide what the Orca need - all other factors remaining the same.

Edit: The Columbia Basin article to which I provided a link also included the following:

"Chasco said the authors, as well as other scientists from Oregon to Alaska, are “very close to submitting a study that applies this method to the eight spatial boxes on the west coast, and the Columbia River is one of them.”"

So while this thread has morphed a bit we should expect something fairly soon directly tied to pinniped impacts on the CR. Stand by Todd, it is supposedly coming.....