article_snippet: Humans, sea lions and seals alike are sharing in the bounty of the Columbia River.
article_snippet: But it was actually more than 6,400 regionally based harbor seals.
article_snippet: And sea lions reserved sea lions spot at the dinner table.
article_snippet: I think that will be telling once the smelt run is done, how many sea lions leave,' Sall said. 'how many sea lions're already tapering off.'
article_snippet: A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report in October compared the decrease in survival with a more than 670 percent increase in sea lion populations counted by ODFW in Astoria between March 15 and May 15 over the same years.
article_snippet: For several years, the Sea Lion Defense Brigade has kept a regular presence at the basin, monitoring ODFW's trapping and branding and reporting on the Sea Lion Defense Brigade Facebook page.
article_snippet: Members snap photos of visitors who drop by to see sea lions and regularly attend The Port of Astoria meetings to testify on behalf of pinnipeds. '
article_snippet: I want to talk about sharing on the second biggest river in North America,' Ninette Jones, brigade member, told Port Commission March 17, after being told she couldn't comment a second time on sea lions.
article_snippet: Brigade members see sea lions as a scapegoat for larger issues, such as pollution, climate change, overfishing and thousands of miles of blocked fish passages.
article_snippet: Brigade members've claimed that Sea Shepherd Conservation Society once offered to pay for a sea lion haul-out, although The Port of Astoria