For the crime of snacking on endangered salmon, dozens of sea lions have been sentenced to die.

Associated Press

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it had authorized state officials in Oregon and Washington to “lethally remove” a population of sea lions which for years have congregated just below the Bonneville Dam, about 150 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and gorged on salmon migrating upriver to spawn.

“This is not an easy decision for our agency to make, but a thorough analysis shows that a small number of California sea lions preying on salmon and steelhead are having a significant effect on the ability of the fish stocks to recover,” William W. Stelle Jr., the Northwest regional administrator for N.O.A.A.’s Fisheries Service, said in a statement.

The states will be allowed to kill up to 85 sea lions per year, but only those that are known to be eating salmon.



A previous decision by the agency to authorize the killing of the animals was halted by a federal appeals court after a lawsuit by animal rights groups. That lawsuit was struck down late last year.

Numbering about 240,000 on the West Coast, the species known as the California sea lion is considered to be in good shape, N.O.A.A. said. By contrast, several salmon species on the Columbia River, including the steelhead, are listed as endangered and have been a major concern for fisheries biologists in recent years.

Before the decision to kill the sea lions, federal engineers had tried to drive the animals off using firecrackers, loud noise and even rubber bullets, with no success.