Study finds 7,500 marine mammals in lower Columbia River
An aerial survey of marine mammals in the lower Columbia River found spring Chinook salmon will have to make it past more than 6,000 hungry harbor seals, 1,500 California sea lions and 100 Steller sea lions. The marine mammals are drawn into the river this time of year to take advantage of a large smelt run. But the animals will switch to spring Chinook by spring. A study last year indicated as much as 40 percent of the spring and summer chinook run that enters the Columbia River disappears. Read the rest here 08:06
These animals get here in early February and do not leave until the end of the Fall Chinook Run in late October. If each Animal eats only 4 Salmon a day on average (that is actually a very low estimated average) that would equal over 7 Million Salmon killed/year.