Court rules partly in favor of sea lions

PORTLAND — A federal appeals court Wednesday gave the Humane Society of the United States a partial victory in the dispute over the fate of California sea lions in the Columbia River, allowing some to be trapped but none to be killed this spring.

The Humane Society filed a request for an emergency injunction last week to contest federal authorization for Oregon and Washington to trap or kill up to 85 sea lions a year for five years because of the amount of salmon they eat at the base of Bonneville Dam. The authorization recommended an annual take of about 30 sea lions.

Last week the Humane Society lost a bid for a preliminary injunction to halt the authorization pending a full court hearing on merits. Defendants are the National Marine Fisheries Service and the states of Oregon and Washington

In denying the request, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman said the Humane Society was likely to prevail under terms of an amendment to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, which requires proof of "significant negative impact" on salmon before the animals can be harmed.

But he added that the group was not entitled to the preliminary injunction because it had not shown irreparable harm if it were denied.

Wednesday, a three-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco said "... the lethal taking of California sea lions is, by definition, irreparable. This logic also applies to the salmon consumed by the sea lions."

The court said the requested injunction was only for the spring chinook run and it expects the case to be resolved on merits before next year's run. The sea lions typically leave the dam by late May.

The opinion said both sides agree this year's run will be unusually large, so the balance of the irreparable harm question tipped to the Humane Society.

The court will hear oral arguments on the merits of the case May 8 in Pasadena, Calif. A ruling could come months later.

A filing by the appeals-court clerk Wednesday said the case is being considered for a mediation program and gave both sides 14 days to say whether they think that would be appropriate.

The states estimate the sea lions eat up to about 4.2 percent of the salmon run as it passes through the dam's fish ladders en route to spawning grounds upriver. The plaintiffs argued that given the expected size of the run, the 30 sea lions that might be removed or shot would account for less than 1 percent.

Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle, said attorneys must examine the opinion before the agency can comment on the ruling.