Final Report and Recommendations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Section 120 Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force: Columbia River; 3-Year Review and Evaluation

On December 5, 2006, NMFS received an application co-signed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (the States), requesting authorization to kill individually identifiable California sea lions in the Columbia River, which are having a significant negative impact on the recovery of threatened and endangered Pacific salmon and steelhead, under Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The application described the affected salmon and steelhead runs; the means of identifying individual pinnipeds; the problem interactions between pinnipeds and listed salmonids at and below Bonneville Dam; and the expected benefits of the potential taking of pinnipeds. The application also documented past non-lethal efforts to prevent the problem interactions. 2010 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) Submitted Public Domain 1861