Most Americans who visit SeaWorld, a zoo, or an aquarium may come away with the impression that sea lions — which often clap or balance beach balls on their heads for treats — are lovable, fur-covered puppies of the ocean. Yet, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) says the reality of sea lions in the wild is far less cuddly.
Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents portions of Washington’s Pacific coast, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday warning that sea lions are wreaking havoc on her district’s fishing industry.
Sea lions “have eaten four times as many salmon as our fishermen and Tribes have harvested in the Columbia River in a year,” she wrote. “During the 2025 spring season, nearly one-fourth of fish at Bonneville Dam show wounds from sea lion bites.”
Gluesenkamp Perez argued that current federal law does not allow for the removal and euthanization of sea lions at a fast enough pace. She noted the 2018 Marine Mammal Protection Act allowed the killing of at least “540 California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions” from the Columbia River over a five-year period. Yet, according to Gluesenkamp Perez, individuals removed only “111 of both species, nowhere near the permissible amount.”
“Manager must capture these Toyota Corolla-sized creatures in traps, remove them from the river, chemically euthanize them with darts with a licensed veterinarian present, then transport the carcasses to a tertiary location for disposal and autopsy,” she wrote. “The financial and cultural impacts are unsustainable.”
Gluesenkamp Perez wrote it can cost “nearly $38,000” to remove and euthanize a sea lion under the “current regulatory process.”
In her letter, Gluesenkamp Perez asked the Commerce Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to partner with local governments and stakeholders to explore ways to expedite the removal and euthanasia of sea lions. She also asked Lutnick to ease current restrictions on where sea lions can be removed along Washington’s Columbia River.