3 states ask to move or kill sea lions

PORTLAND — The federal government will consider a petition by Washington, Oregon and Idaho to remove or kill troublesome sea lions to protect endangered salmon and steelhead headed upriver through Bonneville Dam to spawning grounds in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The action applies to fish protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, according to the NOAA Fisheries Service. A decision to remove or kill the sea lions likely is a year or more away.

Fishermen contend the sea lions, who gather at the base of the dam as salmon head upriver, eat too many fish, reducing the available catch. Authorities have tried huge firecrackers, rubber bullets, underwater broadcasts of loud sounds and other remedies, to little avail.