Upon reading the latest concerning the local king salmon run or lack of, there is one factor left out. I have read multiple reasons theorizing the demise of the king salmon runs, but have never read about one of the culprits left out. Talk to the fishermen who have been fishing the waters of the west coast for years. As chairman of the Department of Fish and Game advisory board for years I never heard one Fish and Game person say “what do the fishermen believe could be a part of the problem?”
Ever since the seal and sea lion were put on the endangered species list, the population has increased dramatically all the way from Alaska to California. This is not a supposition, this is a well-known fact. Look it up.
As the population of seals and sea lions increased the population of kings went down. A mature sea lion eats 60 pounds of fish a day. Do the math. As reported, orcas are starving because of the decrease in king salmon. Eighty percent of the orca diet is salmon. Eighty percent of the 80 percent is king salmon. As the number of kings deteriorate, that is less food for orcas.
Until the Department of Fish and Game gets their head out of “you know where,” the population of kings is going to diminish until they follow the dinosaurs. As they say, “Fish and Game was in charge of the dinosaurs and look where they are now!”
Gary Hess