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A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 4 May 2019
Salmon-eating sea lions targeted at Columbia River dam

By KEITH RIDLER fornia sea lions are drawn
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — More to the breeding beaches.
California sea lions preying The overall population
on imperiled salmon in the rebounded from about
Columbia River below a hy- 30,000 in the late 1960s to
droelectric project on the an estimated 300,000 to-
Oregon-Washington bor- day, following the passage
der are being killed under of the 1972 Marine Mam-
a revised policy, federal mal Protection Act.
authorities said Friday. California sea lions at Bonn-
The National Marine Fish- eville Dam were a rarity
eries Service made public until they started showing
reduced criteria for remov- up in the early 2000s. Au-
ing sea lions at Bonneville thorities began the lethal
Dam about 145 miles (235 removal list in 2008. Since
kilometers) from the Pacific then, some 400 sea lions
Ocean. have made the list, with
The new guidelines that 229 removed. Of those, 15
went into effect April 17 have been sent to zoos or
permit any California sea aquariums, seven died dur-
lion seen in the area on five In this May 4, 2010, file photo, a sea lion tosses a partially eaten salmon in the Columbia River near ing capture, and 207 have
occasions or seen eating a Bonneville Dam, where six more sea lions were trapped earlier in the day with one to be eutha- been euthanized.
fish to be put on a list for le- nized, in North Bonneville, Wash. Killing sea lions "is not a long-
thal removal. Associated Press term solution," said Russ
The former criteria required Kiefer, an Idaho Fish and
both those marks to be by 66 percent. tom of the dam to go up swimming roughly 800 miles Game fisheries biologist,
met. Officials say 10 sea li- Officials are authorized to fish ladders, facing some (1,300 kilometers) to breed- noting the main problem
ons have been killed so far remove 92 California sea li- delays in "getting through ing beaches at the Chan- for salmon and steelhead is
this year, most as a result of ons annually from the area, the pinch points, and sea nel Islands off the California habitat degradation along
the policy change. but have never come close lions have figured that out," coast. Once there they try their migration corridor. "It
Robert Anderson, the to that number. Mean- Anderson said. to establish territories, not won't be a game changer,
agency's marine mammal while, billions of dollars The California sea lions at eating for a month while but it will help."
program manager, said have been spent in Idaho, the dam are all males, with mating with females in their Snake River sockeye salm-
the Pinniped-Fishery Inter- Oregon and Washington to some 200 to 300 showing area of control and fighting on, which reproduce in
action Task Force decided save 13 species of Colum- up and numbers typically off rival males. high-elevation Idaho lakes,
to make the change after bia Basin salmon and steel- peaking in the spring. "It's kind of classic biology," teetered on extinction for
dissatisfaction with current head protected under the They're bulking up on Anderson said. "Get as big several years before an
efforts. A study found the Endangered Species Act. salmon, with some sea li- as you can to try to be suc- elaborate hatchery pro-
change could increase the Salmon and steelhead ons reaching 1,000 pounds cessful." gram involving Fish and
number of sea lions killed congregate near the bot- (455 kilograms), before An estimated 70,000 Cali- Game was created.q

SpaceX delays launch to freshly

repaired space station

By MARCIA DUNN NASA completed the job to solve any issues.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Thursday. If the Dragon capsule
(AP) — SpaceX delayed The landing platform was isn't flying by Saturday,
a supply run Friday to the stationed 14 miles (22 kilo- SpaceX will have to wait
International Space Sta- meters) offshore. The new a week before its next try
tion, back to full power and booster was originally sup- because of other Air Force
accepting deliveries after posed to return to Cape operations.q
quick repairs. Canaveral Air Force Sta-
A Falcon rocket was poised tion for eventual recycling,
A SpaceX Falcon 9 remains on space launch complex 40 after to blast off before dawn Fri- but SpaceX is still cleaning
a scrubed launch attempt to deliver supplies to the International day, with a Dragon cargo up from the April 20 acci-
Space Station at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Fri- capsule. But an electri- dent that destroyed a crew
day, May 3, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Associated Press cal problem cropped up Dragon capsule. The emp-
at the last minute with the ty capsule was undergoing
ocean platform needed ground testing when the
to recover the first-stage blast occurred. The cause
booster following liftoff. is not yet known.
SpaceX said it will try again SpaceX said before Sat-
early Saturday morning. The urday's launch attempt, it
delivery is already running will patch a helium leak at
a few days late because the launch pad that also
of a space station power occurred late in the count-
shortage that stalled deliv- down. With only a split sec-
eries until a failed electrical ond to launch the rocket,
box could be replaced. there was not enough time