Tag: Columbia River

Reward offered after video shows boater speeding over sea lions

A reward of up to $20,000 is being offered in the hope of identifying and prosecuting a boater who was caught on video speeding over sea lions earlier this month in the Columbia River.

A $20,000 reward is being offered as federal authorities seek to identify and prosecute a boater who was caught on video speeding over sea lions earlier this month in the Columbia River.

NOAA launched an investigation after the footage, captured April 3 by a Portland resident, began to circulate via social media. (The footage is posted below.)

It shows the boater plowing over groups of sea lions, in apparent violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as the animals rested on the surface near Hayden Island.

Oregon Live reported Friday that NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is offering the reward for information that leads to a “civic penalty or criminal conviction.”

The Marine Mammal Protection Act, passed in 1972, prohibits the hunting or harassment of marine mammals. Harassment is any act that significantly alters the mammals’ behavior.

The number of California sea lions – the same animals that inhabit the Columbia River – has increased steadily since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Recent estimates place the West Coast population at about 280,000.

Fishermen often express frustration regarding sea lions, which possess a seemingly insatiable appetite for salmon and other fishes. But blatant acts of aggression toward sea lions rarely occur in open public settings.

According to Oregon Live, the vessel in question is an aluminum Hewescraft Pro-V Sea Runner with a dark blue stripe, measuring perhaps 20 feet.

Authorities are asking anyone who might recognize the boat or be able to identify the boater reach out to NOAA at 360-310-0259, or via its hotline at 800-853-1964.

Fishing boat speeds over sea lions in ‘terrible’ scene caught on video

Video footage has surfaced showing a fishing boat speeding across the Columbia River and running over sea lions in clear violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Video footage has surfaced showing a fishing boat speeding across the Columbia River and running over sea lions in clear violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The footage, captured Monday by a Portland resident, has prompted an investigation by county and federal authorities.

In the footage, the vessel is shown veering toward and over several groups of sea lions as they rest on an otherwise calm surface off Hayden Island.

“Whoever was driving it, they went right through the pack of the first one and it was kind of [like he] was trying to hit every pack and I just looked around me and everybody was devastated,” Michael Brady, who captured the footage, told KGW.

It was not clear if any animals were injured.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act, passed in 1972, prohibits the hunting or harassment of marine mammals, or approaching them too closely. Harassment can be defined as any act that alters the mammals’ behavior.

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The footage might also help to illustrate the frustration fishermen experience regarding mammals that are voracious competitors capable of decimating large schools of fish in short order.

“It was inappropriate for sure. But it really is a product of the frustration over the dramatic declines of salmon in the Pacific Northwest in recent years,” Bob Rees, a fishing guide and the executive director of the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, told the Oregonian. “We don’t have the fishing opportunities that we’ve historically had.”

Said Brady: “I understand the frustration. I understand this year is tough on salmon. But I think this was a sport fisherman who had a little chip on his shoulder and it was terrible to witness as a community here.”

The number of California sea lions – the same animals that inhabit the Columbia River basin – has increased steadily since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Latest estimates place the West Coast population at about 280,000 animals.