Sea Lion Removals Annual Summary
NOAA Fisheries has authorized Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to lethally remove individually identifiable, predatory California Sea Lions in the vicinity of Bonneville Dam that are having a negative impact on the recovery of salmon and steelhead.
The following table summarizes sea lion removals under Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) authorization jointly granted to the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho (since 2008), and more recently (since August 2020), The Nez Perce Tribe, The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation, The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community, The Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians of Oregon, and The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
Sea Lion Removals, 2008-2023
| Bonneville Dam | Willamette Falls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | California sea lions | Steller sea lions | California sea lions | Steller sea lions | Total |
| 2008 | 7 | 7 | |||
| 2009 | 15 | 15 | |||
| 2010 | 14 | 14 | |||
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2012 | 13 | 13 | |||
| 2013 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 2014 | 15 | 15 | |||
| 2015 | 32 | 32 | |||
| 2016 | 59 | 59 | |||
| 2017 | 24 | 24 | |||
| 2018 | 28 | 4 | 32 | ||
| 2019 | 19 | 30 | 49 | ||
| 2020 | 6 | 6 | |||
| 2021 | 21 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 67 |
| 2022 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 26 | |
| 2023 | 22 | 25 | 47 | ||
| Total | 288 | 77 | 45 | 1 | 411 |