Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, populations of California Sea Lions have increased, until today their numbers are reported to be larger than at any other time in the past several centuries. This is a case of a federal law being too successful. In 1997, a report co-authored by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission offered Congress some sound recommendations for changes to the MMPA, aimed at beginning to place some management controls on this exploding population. Eleven years later, not one of the recommendations has been implemented, and there has been no reauthorization of the MMPA. A number of incidents have pointed up the fact that injuries of humans by sea lions have been increasing, and some regulatory changes are needed now to slow down the aggressive packs of sea lions. In addition, more and more property damage has been reported, both against boats and on the docks in marinas, up and down the coast. We no longer have the luxury of ignoring what is becoming a very serious public problem. The sportfishing industry is working for changes in the MMPA and for appropriate funding, and is asking Congress to direct the NMFS to take the lead in the development of effective non-lethal deterrent devices, so as to allow the industry to co-exist with these marauding gangs of pinnipeds. The funding would create the incentives so that the private sector would partner with NMFS in developing the needed deterrent devices.