US congressmen push to allow hunting of salmon-hungry sea lions

Fishery officials have tried just about everything to keep California sea lions from munching on threatened salmon migrating up the Columbia River - from yelling at them to setting off firecrackers. But nothing has worked. On Monday, two Washington state congressmen announced at Bonneville Dam, Washington - where the pesky and portly pinnepeds have been doing most of their munching - that they are going to enlist Congress for help. Sea lions are protected by federal law. But Republican Doc Hastings and Democrat Brian Baird said they will introduce a bill that would let officials from the two U.S. states, as well as American Indians, quickly obtain permits to kill a limited number of sea lions that are going after salmon in the Columbia. "These sea lions have bellied up to an endangered salmon buffet and they will be eating thousands and thousands of fish right here this spring if we don't do something about it," Hastings said. They say numerous attempts to scare the sea lions off, including yelling at them, shocking them and exploding fireworks, have failed. When the Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed in 1972, there were about 50,000 California sea lions. Oregon officials say their numbers have grown to 300,000....