To earn its current kill limit, OFW warned of an 80s-style situation. The allocations are a case-by-case basis and very strict—pinnipeds are still federally-protected, after all. The 92 removals OFW is currently allowed annually are exclusive to sea lions at Bonneville Dam, and the department is currently waiting on NOAA to review its application for lethal removal at Willamette. To complete a kill, OFW has to prove to NOAA that an identifiable sea lion has been hanging around for five days and documented with salmon or trout in its mouth. If NOAA approves the target list addition, OFW then must wait for the wanted sea lion to fall into one of the traps itself. It’s only after no zoos or aquariums are willing to take in the animal that it can be euthanized.