Wednesday April 30, 2025
KGW8 —
The battle between sea lions, salmon and fishermen has been going on for decades on the Columbia River, but tension is growing in Longview, where it appears hundreds of them have found a permanent home.
It’s a problem that doesn’t seem to go away, despite Washington and Oregon getting involved, and fishermen are concerned if something isn’t done soon, salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon could be a thing of the past in the Columbia River.
There’s always going to be a good crowd on the Columbia River, whether it’s people trying to reel one in, or one two sea lion species that have made themselves at home: California and Stellar sea lions.
“A couple of weeks ago when the smelt was out here, it was insane,” said Gary Ryan, a fisherman.
Ryan and fellow fisherman Bill Monroe, who also runs a guide fishing company, said sea lions often try to take their catch while out fishing.