Posted by citizen at 5/7/08 11:14 a.m.

So these caged sea lions bit each other to death?
Case solved.

Posted by RationalThought at 5/7/08 11:21 a.m.

A big fat sea lion, feasting on easy-picking salmon at the base of a dam, might not be the healthiest creature on the planet.

Put it in a cage with a bunch of other agitated sea lions and it's entirely feasible that these bloated fat slobs have heart attacks or strokes - just like bloated fat humans do when subjected to unusual stress.

Just a theory, but certainly plausible considering the facts presented at this point...

Posted by SeaDuck79 at 5/7/08 12:31 p.m.

So they died of simultaneous heart attacks? Sort of like the Kurds, since Saddam never had WMDs.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 12:31 p.m.

Who cares, as long as more fish can make it through

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 1:04 p.m.

OK, that's cold. I don't think 7 dead marine animals is going to have that much of an impact on the salmon runs.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 1:14 p.m.

Its all horrible no matter what happend.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 2:00 p.m.

Great job, Dept. of Homeland Security!!! No record of what happened at a supposed area of ultra high risk.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 2:07 p.m.

Amazing to me that people care about a few sea lions dying/killed, but at the same time not so much about the thousands of cows & pigs killed for steaks & chops every day.

Posted by x-hiker at 5/7/08 2:22 p.m.

So there isn't a gang of inside-job killers armed with high powered weapons on the loose down at the dam? Damn! Now we'll need to find some other way to villainize gun owners.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 2:59 p.m.

So the best idea we have is to remove a natural part of the ecosystem because we've screwed up other parts of the ecosystem already? No wonder the world is going to HiaH, if that's the level of reasoning we apply to problems.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 3:03 p.m.

The sea lions are being removed in an effort to boost ailing salmon stocks (the sea lions are blamed for eating approximately 4 percent of the fish).

FOUR PERCENT. How about trapping the companies that overfish the salmon, and the people that pollute the water instead.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 3:23 p.m.

You city people crack me up when you comment on salmon runs. Most of you have never seen a salmon run since middle school field trip day. Come out West to the Olympic Peninsula and check out the "fish pump" rivers.

They have Indian gill nets covering the river width making salmon migration almost an impossiblity. While you fret about building setbacks and 6 sea lion the tribal fish take via modern gill nets is staggering.

If anyone becomes genuinely interested in increasing salmon runs they will begin by stopping in-river tribal gill netting.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 3:25 p.m.

Well done investigators-- maybe you should make sure there was an actual shooing before theorizing how it was done-- DOH!!!

Posted by The Rev's Bro at 5/7/08 3:53 p.m.

I did not know the PI was becoming a "RAG MAG". I thought conclusive journalism was how a real paper was run, not one that printed what it was fed with no verification and then...oooppsss. Losing credibility is not going to boost sales..unless you plan on becoming the National Enquirer's newest rival.

Posted by NWAires at 5/7/08 5:05 p.m.

@unregistered user . . . guess you weren't around when Hershel(sp)hung out at the Locks. . . seven sea lions can eat ALOT of salmon

Posted by Skimission at 5/7/08 5:17 p.m.

... what would have made this better is if PI investigative reporters claimed they had discovered who the shooters were, had interviewed them, but could not disclose their names due to confidentiality.

Just a dream ...

Posted by truck guy at 5/7/08 5:22 p.m.

An unregesterd user brings up a great point when he/she compares killing cows and pigs to the killing of the sealions.
there could be a market for the stuff. Anyone tried eating sealion before? I can't find a recipe online. Anyone else?

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 9:04 p.m.

The amount of Salmon taken by Russia and Japan in the open sea,is ridiculous to worry about a few sea lions.Our problem is the open sea fishing is not controlled so they can take as much as possible. The Indians are also not being reasonable on ther catches on the river. So all in all it doesn't seem like there is much hope for good runs.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/7/08 11:48 p.m.

It's the dams, people, and there is no way around that fact. Therefor, the few fish that remain become sitting ducks. Of course the sea lions enjoy the smorgasbord. All finger-pointing and puffery aside, the dams destroyed the river, and only their removal can restore it. Restore the river, restore the runs, and the sea lions 4 percent won't matter. Ah, but humans would miss the electricity, desert irrigation, and slackwater shipping much more than they miss the fish or the mighty Columbia. Roll on, Lake Roosevelt, roll on.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/12/08 8:16 p.m.

why were the salon at the dam in the first place? Are they running out of fish? and by the way people the sea lions were not shot. Why are you not thinking about the truth and facts. Look at every viewpoint people.