This letter was sent to the author of a particularly misleading news article that appeared in the Seattle Times. (See link.) The letter was also cc’d to us. It is so well informed that we are posting it here in the hope that it may help to educate other journalists who may be interested in getting the facts before publishing an article about this issue.
Hey I read your article in the Seattle Times re sea lions. I think you
really need to get a more balanced perspective. Maybe you should interview
someone from the sea lion defense group, or In Defense of Animals, or a
real biologist. Try Sharon Young, for example. Because you’ve really
perpetuated a lot of screamingly biased misinformation here. Was that
intentional? Or did you just not realize that referring to sea lions (as
opposed to fishermen) as “infamously gluttonous,” “gorging themselves on
salmon” is incredibly opinionated?
You also repeat the fisherman’s mantra: “Sea lions are cuter than salmon.”
By implication, those who oppose the trapping and killing of sea lions
must just be overly emotional and irrational, guided only by the
“cuteness” of the sea lions.
On the contrary, there may be a lot of hysteria out there, but it’s living
in the bile of the people who want the sea lions dead. Read the rest of this entry »
As reported yesterday, earlier this week the traps were moved closer to the sea lions’ haul out spot on the rocks. Brigadiers feared that the sea lions would leave the sanctuary of the jagged, rock beach for the comforts of the sinister platforms of doom (the floating traps).
thankfully they haven’t! Stellar and California Sea lions have nuzzled right in between two of the traps still on the rocks!! Clever animals! Maybe they smell the fear from the sea lions that came before still lingering in the cages.
Yesterday at sunrise we counted 27 total… not ONE in the traps! And this morning we counted 34 and again… not ONE in the traps!!
The last couple of days sea lion brigadiers witnessed the trappers moving the traps to ‘Solo’s Spot’. As I described earlier this trapping season, Solo is a sea lion whom we named after a brigadier witnessed this solitary sea lion, frantically barking on the rocks while facing the cages that had taken two other sea lions away to their deaths earlier in the day. Solo stayed for days after that, continuing to bark, not eating and only leaving the spot when hazers charged in to shoot at him with hard rubber bullets or terrorize him with seal bombs. We believe Solo’s companion was killed by the state and/or Solo was injured when one of the traps malfunctioned that night (march 29).
Since Solo bellowed his mournful wails from that spot, many more sea lions have started to congregate there. At first, the state responded by dropping seal bomb after seal bomb on them, but this week someone decided that, instead of hazing them from their site of mourning, they would kill them at the wake instead.
Last year around this time (you can also find it in our archives) one of our dedicated monitors posted an article about gill net fishing on the Columbia River.
The monitor posted a picture of a boat named, “Salmon Snatcher” that was taken by a cell phone while driving on the highway. The captain of the Salmon Snatcher visited our site and left many ‘colorful’ comments, these comments were met with (mostly) patient responses by our volunteers at SLDB. We can’t make this stuff up, folks…. enjoy, and please don’t just read some of the comments re-posted below, but check out the whole thread for some Columbia River insight!
Some of my favorites:
Lick my SACK! says:
January 14, 2010 at 6:38 pm (Edit)
All of you retards have SHIT for brains. What makes you guys think you are so much better than all of the fishermen, Your waisting your time with all of your facts. Who gives a fuck. I dont, You guys are saying all fishermen are bad people. Cry about it a little more you cant do anything about us fishing. Your all worthless. That eco-human is the biggest p.o.s on here. Hey buddy if you dont like the world we live in move to another fucking country. The sea lions are part of the problem with the salmon population, So stop putting it all on the fishermen.
A great day today in the gorge! Sea lion defenders shared music, food, knowledge, and fun together. We talked about the delicate ecology of which we are all a part, and connected with people who care about saving the salmon and the sea lions. We just got home, so I’m too tired to write up a full report. Instead, let me share the link from Portland Indymedia, complete with lots of pictures. http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/04/398568.shtml
This morning out on the river Sea Lion Defenders were greeted by 7 sea lions that were floating near the shore where Sea Wolf One parks. These sea lions were linked by their fins creating a kind of sea lion flotilla. Sea lions will congregate in large numbers in this way to stay together and afloat while they sleep in the water.
We watched as they huddled together, bobbing up and down, a couple of them looking in our direction, but most of them just ignoring us. Gotta say, pretty incredible animals.
This week Sea Wolf One has been joined by several new full time volunteer monitors on the river. These dedicated folks have joined the Sea lion defense team to patrol, observe, and document the ongoing trapping and killing program by government agencies who continue to scapegoat these animals instead addressing the real threats to threatened salmon on the Columbia River.
Earlier this week, the Sea Lion Defense team confirmed suspicions that ODFW has indeed been trapping at night and in the dark. PatrolLers witnessed the gate to the trap being dropped at just after 4a.m. in the morning. Read the rest of this entry »
An Outing! Join us on the Columbia river this Saturday!
What: A sea lion party, faux fish fry, keg and educational Columbia River outing
When: Saturday, April 10th, 11:30 AM (Cool Bus will leave at noon, and return in Portland between 6 PM and 7 PM)
Where: Bus pick up at the IDA office, 1732 NE Alberta St.
RSVP: to matt@idausa.org or 503-249-9996
On Saturday, April 10th, In Defense of Animals (IDA) and Sea Lion Defense Brigade are hosting a chauffeured day of community building for the sea lion campaign on the Columbia River at the Bonneville Dam, complete with field discussions about the campaign, river ecology, salmon and sea lions with the breathtaking view of the gorge as the backdrop. The designated driver has all been arranged so those over 21 can safely share a keg of local micro brew and fire up the deep fryer for a faux fish fry feast with friends. Click this link for more details: Read the rest of this entry »
It was a sad day today, as the government trapped a sea lion in the darkness, and hauled him away before dawn. They had expected to do this in silence and secrecy, and went so far as to illegally keep the running lights off on their boats when they… Read the rest of this entry »
There has been another night trapping at Bonnevlle dam, trapping sleeping animals as they lay hauled out on the platforms. We do not know at this time how many sea lions might have been taken, or who they are.
SLDB monitors reporting from the Sea Wolf One could hear the activity in the dark. At around 4am, they heard the gate clanking open, and turned a spotlight onto the area. The light flooded over agents who had hoped to be in and out of there under cover of darkness, but monitors were able to see what they were doing anyway. The same sad ritual of removal. It is believed that Solo may be among the trapped and possibly doomed animals. Alas.
By 5:45am, when officials expected to be out of there before sunrise and had hoped to be out before being seen, the animals had been transported away.
