They are not, however, designated as a "depleted" population under the MMPA, nor are they listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Army Corps of Engineers.Ĭonservation status: Like all marine mammals, California sea lions are managed under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972. Each year since 2004, California sea lions have consumed 3,000 to 3,500 salmon and steelhead immediately below Bonneville Dam, according to an ongoing study by the U.S. Additional studies have shown that the percentage of salmon and steelhead in sea lions’ diet increases as they move upriver. Studies of scat samples collected in coastal waters and the Columbia River estuary indicate that salmon comprise 10 to 30 percent of the animals’ diet.
In recent years, they have also been observed preying on Columbia River sturgeon. A population survey conducted in 2006 by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) documented 1,200 California sea lions and 1,000 Steller sea lions near the mouth of the Columbia River alone.ĭiet: California sea lions feed on a variety of fish and shellfish, including salmon, steelhead, Pacific whiting, herring, mackerel, eulachon, lamprey, codfish, walleye Pollock, spiny dogfish and squid. California sea lion numbers have grown rapidly since the 1970s and the species is now at “carrying capacity”-near the highest level the environment can sustain-according to wildlife biologists. And after a heat wave hit, six more sea lions at Austrias Vienna Zoo refused to. From an estimated population of about 10,000 animals in the 1950s, U.S. She had to dismiss her second sea lion after the animal gave birth to a pup. population of California sea lions is currently estimated at up to 300,000 animals, all on the Pacific coast. California sea lions are one of two species of sea lions found in Washington state waters, the other being Steller sea lions ( Eumetopias jubata), which are larger in size.
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