0:46
Nate Pamplin
111:39 - 112:25
"research by NMFS estimates that 20 to 44% of upriver spring and summer Chinook in the lower Columbia died due to pinniped predation annually. Congress amended the MMPA in 2018 to provide the co-managers greater flexibility, and the subsequent permitted removal efforts show signs of success."
“research by NMFS estimates that 20 to 44% of upriver spring and summer Chinook in the lower Columbia died due to pinniped predation annually. Congress amended the MMPA in 2018 to provide the co-managers greater flexibility, and the subsequent permitted removal efforts show signs of success.”
- Speaker
- Nate Pamplin
- Timestamp
- 111:39 – 112:25
- Source
- House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries (Begich): Legislative Hearing
- Community
- Alaska News
- Captured at
- July 21, 2026
From the transcript
Two of the prey recommendations focus on reducing pinniped predation. One recommendation for the Columbia River called for amending the MMPA to allow for more effective management of pinniped predation. The other recommendation was directed at Puget Sound and the coast and include convening a science panel and securing authorization if pinniped removal was needed. Turning now to the Columbia, research by NMFS estimates that 20 to 44% of upriver spring and summer Chinook in the lower Columbia died due to pinniped predation annually. Congress amended the MMPA in 2018 to provide the co-managers greater flexibility, and the subsequent permitted removal efforts show signs of success.
Related Coverage
Congress weighs expanded sea lion removal to save Pacific salmon
A House subcommittee heard competing testimony Tuesday on a bill that would let Washington state and tribal co-managers kill more sea lions across the Columbia River and Western Washington. Supporters cited a dramatic drop in steelhead extinction risk at Willamette Falls; a minority scientist warned habitat loss, not predation, is the real problem.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAIPacific Northwest (Columbia River Basin, Puget Sound, coastal Washington)
