Proposal to Relocate Sea Lions Rejected : Conservation: Coastal commissioners decide that moving 60 of the mammals from Washington state to Santa Barbara and Ventura coasts would not work.

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected a proposal to move about 60 California sea lions from Washington state to waters off Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, despite a proposal to relocate the mammals in an effort to reduce their preying upon steelhead trout in the Northwest.

The National Marine Fisheries Service had proposed moving the sea lions from their plentiful hunting ground near Ballard Locks, Wash., where steelhead trout spawn, to join sea lions already in the Santa Barbara Channel and the Channel Islands.

But the Coastal Commission rejected the proposal by a vote of 5 to 3, with one commissioner abstaining. Commissioners who opposed the plan argued that moving the sea lions to Southern California wouldn’t solve the problem because they would probably swim back north, said Jack Liebster, public affairs director for the commission.

“They didn’t think it would work,” Liebster said. “Experiments have shown they do return rapidly.”

In a 1989 relocation experiment, five out of six sea lions moved from Washington to San Miguel Island, in the Channel Islands, returned within a month, according to a report to the commission.

The steelhead population is already depressed, and managers of fisheries in the Northwest fear that the fish could become threatened or endangered if predation continues.

Liebster said there was also concern among the commissioners that, while they were in Southern California, the sea lions “might also damage the small steelhead population that we have. But the overall issue was, ‘Why do this if it didn’t work?’ ”

This is the second time that the Coastal Commission has rejected a sea lion relocation plan. In 1989, a similar proposal was brought before the commission by the National Marine Fisheries Service, but that was also defeated.

Commission staff had recommended approval of the most recent proposal, saying an all-time low in the steelhead population and new information on potential effects warranted reconsideration of the plan.

Joe Scordino of the fisheries service said the agency was disappointed at the decision and frustrated that the commission failed to offer alternative ideas.

“What they did was say this action is not consistent with their plan. They didn’t say why,” said Scordino, deputy chief of fisheries management for the service’s Northwest division. “Rather, they were saying they didn’t like the idea.”

Scordino said that under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, the commission must explain why it didn’t concur with the proposal and come up with “prudent alternatives” to the relocation plan. “That’s what they are supposed to do legally,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, the steelhead winter run is under way, and the sea lions are hungrily waiting. About 1,000 fish are expected to make the run this year.

“One or two animals by themselves could eat the run,” Scordino said. “We’ve seen one animal eat 11 fish in one day.”

Local commercial and sport fishermen applauded the commission’s decision.

“Unbelievable,” commercial fisherman Bill Sutton said. “It’s a blessing that somebody made that decision.”

Andy Rasmussen, a commercial fisherman who works off the coast of Santa Barbara, said that moving the sea lions to Southern California would have been a mistake.

“It’s a tremendous waste of money. They’re going to turn around and go right back; that’s what they did in the past,” he said.

Sutton said the sea lion population is out of control. In peak seasons, officials estimate that there are more than 100,000 sea lions in the Santa Barbara Channel. Although 60 additional lions may seem a small number, Sutton said, it’s still contributing to the problem.

“Nobody is taking care of these darn things. The population is going crazy. That doesn’t sound like very much, but they increase at 10% per year--that’s 10,000 sea lions per year,” he said.

Sport fisherman and seafood restaurant owner Gus Garcia agreed.

“Fifty percent of the catch they tear up” without eating them, Garcia said of the sea lions. “You’re trying to make a living, and they’re tearing it up.”