Judge limits Bonneville sea lion cull toll to 30

    WASHINGTON D.C.–U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg on March 22,  2012 denied an injunction sought by the Humane Society of the U.S. against a National Marine Fisheries Service decision to allow California sea lions to be  culled at the Bonne-ville Dam on the Columbia River to protect endangered spring salmon runs–but Boasberg restricted the proposed killing to 30 sea lions per year, rather than the 92 proposed by NMFS,  and ordered that the sea lions may not be shot.
California sea lions eat under 4% of the Columbia River salmon runs,  according to federal studies.  But Oregon and Washington have for more than 15 years blamed sea lions for declining catches.  HSUS and other organizations have repeatedly blocked or restricted proposed sea lion culls by filing lawsuits invoking the Marine Mammal Protection Act.