There are theories about why the number of orcas is in decline: food source, pollution, noise.
There is an easy answer to increasing the number of salmon available to orcas.
Produce more salmon at hatcheries and ‘manage’ the number of sea lions.
There are some conservation organizations that are against that idea because they believe that hatchery salmon are inferior to wild salmon and they think sea lions are cute.
The fact is, hatchery salmon come from eggs of wild salmon.
If the young salmon are released from hatcheries, survive in the open ocean 2-5 years, and make it upstream to spawn, how can they be genetically inferior?
I think sea lions are eating more salmon than Native Americans are catching.
Time to address the elephant in the room: Increase hatchery raised salmon numbers and cull the sea lion herds.
It just makes sense.
Sally Kincaid,
Sequim