State Refuses to Accept Sea Lions From Washington

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 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 on a 5-3 vote, with one commissioner abstaining. Commissioners who opposed the plan argued that moving the sea lions to Southern California would not solve the problem because they would probably swim back north, said Jack Liebster, a commission spokesman.

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

The steelhead population is already depleted, and managers of fisheries in the Northwest fear the fish could become threatened.