I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3069 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce predation 

on endangered Columbia River salmon and other nonlisted species, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2011 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 

reduce predation on endangered Columbia River salmon 

and other nonlisted species, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Endangered Salmon 

5 and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There are 13 groups of salmon and 

9 steelhead that are listed as threatened species or enVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:57 Sep 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3069.IH H3069

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1 dangered species under the Endangered Species Act 

2 of 1973 that migrate through the lower Columbia 

3 River. 

4 (2) The people of the Northwest United States 

5 are united in their desire to restore healthy salmon 

6 and steelhead runs, as they are integral to the re7 gion’s culture and economy. 

8 (3) The Columbia River treaty tribes retain im9 portant rights with respect to salmon and steelhead. 

10 (4) Federal, State, and tribal governments have 

11 spent billions of dollars to assist the recovery of Co12 lumbia River salmon and steelhead populations. 

13 (5) One of the factors impacting salmonid pop14 ulations is increased predation by marine mammals, 

15 including California sea lions. 

16 (6) The population of California sea lions has 

17 increased 6-fold over the last 3 decades, and is cur18 rently greater than 250,000 animals. 

19 (7) In recent years, more than 1,000 California 

20 sea lions have been foraging in the lower 145 miles 

21 of the Columbia River up to Bonneville Dam during 

22 the peak spring salmonid run before returning to the 

23 California coast to mate. 


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1 (8) The percentage of the spring salmonid run 

2 that has been eaten or killed by California sea lions 

3 at Bonneville Dam has increased 7-fold since 2002. 

4 (9) In recent years, California sea lions have 

5 with greater frequency congregated near Bonneville 

6 Dam and have entered the fish ladders. 

7 (10) These California sea lions have not been 

8 responsive to extensive hazing methods employed 

9 near Bonneville Dam to discourage this behavior. 

10 (11) The process established under the 1994 

11 amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

12 of 1972 to address aggressive sea lion behavior is 

13 protracted and will not work in a timely enough 

14 manner to protect threatened and endangered 

15 salmonids in the near term. 

16 (12) In the interest of protecting Columbia 

17 River threatened and endangered salmonids, a tem18 porary expedited procedure is urgently needed to 

19 allow removal of the minimum number of California 

20 sea lions as is necessary to protect the passage of 

21 threatened and endangered salmonids in the Colum22 bia River and its tributaries. 

23 (13) On December 21, 2010, the independent 

24 Pinniped-Fishery Interaction Task Force recVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:57 Sep 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3069.IH H3069

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1 ommended lethally removing more of the California 

2 sea lions in 2011. 

3 (14) On August 18, 2011, the States of Wash4 ington, Oregon, and Idaho applied to the National 

5 Marine Fisheries Service, under section 

6 120(b)(1)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

7 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389(b)(1)(A)), for the lethal re8 moval of sea lions that the States determined are 

9 having a ‘‘significant negative impact’’ on the recov10 ery of Columbia River and Snake River salmon and 

11 steelhead. 

12 (15) On September 12, 2011, the National Ma13 rine Fisheries Service announced it was accepting 

14 the States’ application for lethal removal of sea lions 

15 and that it would reconvene the Pinniped-Fishery 

16 Interaction Task Force to consider the States’ appli17 cation. This Act will ensure the necessary authority 

18 for permits under the Marine Mammal Protection 

19 Act of 1972 to be issued in a timely fashion. 

20 (16) During a June 14, 2011, hearing, the 

21 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

22 Representatives received testimony from State and 

23 tribal witnesses expressing concern that significant 

24 pinniped predation of important Northwest fish re25 sources other than salmonids is severely impacting 


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1 fish stocks determined by both Federal and State 

2 fishery management agencies to be at low levels of 

3 abundance, and that this cannot be addressed by 

4 section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

5 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389), which as in effect before 

6 the enactment of this Act restricted control of preda7 tory pinnipeds’ impact only with respect to endan8 gered salmonids. 

9 SEC. 3. TAKING OF SEA LIONS ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER 

10 AND ITS TRIBUTARIES TO PROTECT ENDAN11 GERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF SALM12 ON AND OTHER NONLISTED FISH SPECIES. 

13 Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 

14 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1389) is amended by striking sub15 section (f) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(f) TEMPORARY MARINE MAMMAL REMOVAL AU17 THORITY ON THE WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER OR

18 ITS TRIBUTARIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REMOVAL AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding 

20 any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 

21 issue a permit to an eligible entity authorizing the 

22 intentional lethal taking on the waters of the Colum23 bia River and its tributaries of sea lions that are 

24 part of a healthy population that is not listed as an 

25 endangered species or threatened species under the 


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1 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

2 seq.), to protect endangered and threatened species 

3 of salmon and other nonlisted fish species. 

4 ‘‘(2) PERMIT PROCESS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity may 

6 apply to the Secretary for a permit under this 

7 subsection. 

8 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

9 APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall approve or 

10 deny an application for a permit under this sub11 section by not later than 30 days after receiving 

12 the application. 

13 ‘‘(C) DURATION OF PERMIT.—A permit 

14 under this subsection shall be effective for no 

15 more than one year after the date it is issued, 

16 but may be renewed by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON PERMIT AUTHOR19 ITY.—Subject to subparagraph (B), a permit 

20 issued under this subsection shall not authorize 

21 the lethal taking of more than 10 sea lions dur22 ing the duration of the permit. 

23 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON ANNUAL TAKINGS.— 

24 The cumulative number of sea lions authorized 

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1 fect under this subsection shall not exceed one 

2 percent of the annual potential biological re3 moval level. 

4 ‘‘(4) DELEGATION OF PERMIT AUTHORITY.— 

5 Any eligible entity may delegate to any other eligible 

6 entity the authority to administer its permit author7 ity under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(5) NEPA.—Section 102(2)(C) of the Na9 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

10 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect to this sub11 section and the issuance of any permit under this 

12 subsection during the 5-year period beginning on the 

13 date of the enactment of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(6) SUSPENSION OF PERMITTING AUTHOR15 ITY.— 

16 ‘‘If, 5 years after enactment, the Sec17 retary, after consulting with State and tribal 

18 fishery managers, determines that lethal re19 moval authority is no longer necessary to pro20 tect salmonid and other fish species from sea 

21 lion predation, may suspend the issuance of 

22 permits under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub24 section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means each of the 

25 State of Washington, the State of Oregon, the State 


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1 of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated 

2 Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Con3 federated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 

4 of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of 

5 the Yakama Nation, and the Columbia River Inter6 Tribal Fish Commission’’. 

7 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of the Congress that— 

9 (1) preventing predation by sea lions, recovery 

10 of listed salmonid stocks, and preventing future list11 ings of fish stocks in the Columbia River is a vital 

12 priority; 

13 (2) permit holders exercising lethal removal au14 thority pursuant to the amendment made by this 

15 Act should be trained in wildlife management; and 

16 (3) the Federal Government should continue to 

17 fund lethal and nonlethal removal measures for pre18 venting such predation. 

19 SEC. 5. TREATY RIGHTS OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN20 DIAN TRIBES. 

21 Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by this 

22 Act shall be construed to affect or modify any treaty or 

23 other right of any federally recognized Indian tribe. 

Æ 


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