Don't Execute Sea Lions to Save Commercial Fishing
So far this year, six sea lions were executed at the Bonneville Dam for doing what sea lions naturally do: eat fish.
Commercial Fisherman also want the Chinook Salmon, who are endangered partly because of the dam's interference with their ecosystem. Yet sea lions are taking the hit for their declining population: a man-made problem.
We are killing the sea lions to protect the Chinook Salmon, all so that fishermen will be able to keep fishing this endangered population and the excessive by-catch of the commercial fishing industry will continue. Fishing, as well as the dam, makes much more of a dent in the salmon population than the appetite of the sea lions. The dam itself is an environmental obstruction: it hinders the salmons' migration and disrupts the river's seasonal cycles.
Human interference with nature caused an imbalance in the area around the Bonneville Dam, but killing sea lions isn't the answer to our problems. Tell Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski to end the sea lion cull, and to look for other options to protect the Chinook Salmon population.
Dear Governor Kulongoski,
So far this year, six sea lions were executed at the Bonneville Dam for doing what sea lions naturally do: eat fish.
The Chinook Salmon are wanted by commercial fisherman. They're endangered because of the dam's interference with their ecosystem. Yet sea lions are taking the hit for their declining population: a man-made problem.
[your comments]
We are killing the sea lions to protect the Chinook Salmon, all so that fishermen will be able to keep fishing this endangered population and the excessive by-catch of the commercial fishing industry will continue. Fishing, as well as the dam, makes much more of a dent in the salmon population than the appetite of the sea lions. The dam itself is an environmental obstruction: it hinders the salmons' migration patterns and disrupts the river's seasonal cycles.
Human interference with nature caused an imbalance in the area around the Bonneville Dam, but killing sea lions isn't the answer to our problems. End the sea lion cull, and look for other options to protect the Chinook Salmon population.
