The Edmonds sea lions are way more than OK. They’re thriving

Last week, the My Neighborhood News Group received an email from a reader::

“Does anyone know what’s going on with the sea lions at Marina Park Beach? I haven’t gotten down there but I’ve been hearing them barking for days now quite constantly and I’m just concerned. Are they OK?”

Yes. All several hundred of them are doing just fine, thank you. In fact, the Port of Edmonds is dealing with more sea lions this season than they’ve seen in recent memory. 

“Probably 80-100 last Saturday,” resident Joe Scordino said during public comment at the Port of Edmonds Commission meeting Monday night, April 13, while sporting his decades-old Herschel the sea lion shirt. Scordino is a retired fisheries biologist.

Federally protected Herschel (seen here on Joe’s shirt) gained national attention in the 1980s when he placed himself just west of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks (the Ballard Locks) and enjoyed the all-you-can-eat steelhead buffet for years while marine experts – not allowed to harm, harass or kill him – wracked their brains about what to do. 

Port of Edmonds Executive Director Brandon Baker and Marine Operations Manager Dennis Halpin laughed at the 80-100 estimate. 

“This year, it seems like kind of an explosion in the number of visitors,” Baker said.

“Multiple days where each dock has at least 40,” Halpin said. “At the peak (March through May), there’s about 450 between south Mukilteo and White Center. In Puget Sound there are about 3,000,” Halpin said. 

“The word is out, Edmonds is the place to be,” Halpin said. 

Edmonds IS the place to be. Edmonds is located in Marine Area 10, which sees a variety of migratory and resident fish runs throughout the year. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife tracks chinook (king), coho (silver), pink salmon and chum. Fishanywhere.com reports Marine Area 10 is also a great place for rockfish, flounder, sculpin and lingcod. 

That’s not all. It’s actually really easy to be a lazy sea lion in Edmonds. Local Edmonds pier fishers use bait to draw the fish to the pier, then toss fish guts in the water as they clean. The cool shady spots under the pier are a fish’s favorite hang out.

When lunch is over, sea lions have their choice of docks B, E, F and G to snooze.

You can’t charge sea lions for damages

But if you could, the bill would be high. They weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds. Some can weigh up to 2,000 pounds. 

They break dock boards, which require repairs. They push over power pedestals or destroy power cords, which require skilled electricians. When 40 of them gather on one dock, dock floats move out of alignment and that requires a fix by a skilled diver. When they run out of room on docks, they move to boats in the Edmonds Marina.

“There was one boat toward the end of the dock where there were four or five of them on the boat. [It was] to the point where someone called in and thought the boat was sinking, and we had to go down and kick them all off,” Halpin said. 

They are also aggressive. (And did we mention very large?) If a sea lion is between you and your boat, call maintenance or go get lunch at Arnie’s and try later. 

”They snarl at you,” Halpin said. 

Currently, Port of Edmonds maintenance and marina operations crews factor sea lion duty into daily activity, but if it continues they may start really quantifying how much time goes into it. “In the first quarter, we’ve spent about $5,000 on deterrence,” Halpin said. 

The challenge

Harvested for their hides, oil, meat and even medicinal properties, sea lions are among a group of aquatic carnivorous mammals known as pinnipeds, which also include seals and walruses. Sea lions and seals were on the verge of extinction in the early 20th century. The hunting ended. But the numbers didn’t return. Both are sensitive to ocean pollution and changing water temperatures, and are victims of by-catch when caught in nets designed for fish. Their numbers fluctuate significantly year-over-year.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 protects mammals like the sea lion and prohibits harassing, hunting, capturing or killing them. However, when marine species compete, in some cases, the sea lion loses. The Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act, for example, prioritizes endangered salmon in the Columbia River and agencies can now remove sea lions there. 

But that is the exception not the rule. Sea lions are still federally protected and considered threatened. It is changing slowly. NOAA Fisheries delisted the eastern population off the Alaskan coast in 2013. The Puget Sound area population is still listed as threatened, though it may not seem like it in Edmonds this year.

Herschel 

Which brings us back to Herschel, the very hungry sea lion. During Herschel’s heyday, experts tried everything from underwater firecrackers to a “Fake Willy” — an orca look-alike and natural sea lion predator — to removing him to Port Townsend (he came back). Hakai Magazine wrote an in-depth story about sea lions and Herschel. 

That experience with Hershel in the ‘80s informs what happens in Edmonds in the 2000s. The strict federal policy dictates what they can and can’t do to get sea lions off docks.

Port of Edmonds workers faithfully follow policy. 

“It outlines what they would deem an acceptable deterrent method,” Baker said. For example, policy (as shown below) states they can use an air soft gun or a slingshot. (Don’t worry. They don’t use either.)

“[We start] with the least invasive ones, and work our way down… things like noise deterrence, water hoses,” Baker said. They also use plastic spike strips that bother, but don’t harm, sea lions. 

“The problem with a lot of those things is they require constant staff time, so they’re effective while we’re there. As soon as we go do another task, they’re right back.”

Sea lions are also smart, so even reliable systems are ignored after a couple days.

Baker and Halpin confer and collaborate with federal officials. But, again, “This year is unlike anything we’ve seen in years prior. So it’s a different ball game,” Baker said. 

“It can be tough because they are quite entertaining to the community. We’re trying to find that balance of protecting our tenants [boat owners] and [Port] customers and infrastructure all at once.” Baker said.

“I was out there last week and people were on the breakwater watching me just shoo them off, and they [residents] were booing me,” Halpin said. 

The sea lions usually move on around Memorial Day. This year, the Port may be tempted to throw a party. 

In the meantime, Port workers ask residents to keep their distance and stay off the rocks at the south end of the marina. It is a good viewing spot, but the rocks are dangerous and slippery.