Monday,
June 7, 2010
Mass Slaughter of Sea Lions Being Considered in Mexico
Frontera NorteSur
Arguably,
it hasn't been the easiest time for sea lions on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Mexico. In Washington state's
Puget Sound, several animals have been shot to death in recent months. Last winter, the large sea lion population that usually
dazzles tourists at San Francisco's famed Pier 39 suddenly high-tailed it out the bay, only to gradually return in reduced
numbers months later. On the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, fishermen are proposing a mass slaughter
of the creatures because of competition over fish resources.
However, a Mexican environmental official contended the
current sea lion population does not justify a slaughter. Benito Bermudez Almada, director of the Baja California Sur office
of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, said sea lion numbers have actually dropped in Baja California Sur
from 70,000 animals in 1978 to 30,000 in 2010.
"A huge massacre does not resolve the problem because the big sea lion
colonies have diminished, such as in the case of Margarita Island where there were 4,000 animals and now there are 1,200,"
Bermudez added.
Nonetheless, fishermen are lobbying Baja California Sur's state legislature to take action against
sea lions. State lawmaker Natividad Osuna Aguilar said a study is being prepared to examine the legal and socio-economic aspects
of the sea lion situation.
Although the sea lion is a protected species in Mexico, a "harvest" could be approved if
it is determined that the marine mammals are detrimental to the local fishing industry, said Marco Antonio Gonzalez Vizcarra,
director of the federal Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources in Baja California Sur.
In recent years,
controversies over sea lion populations have erupted at different places along the Baja California peninsula. As in the United
States, numerous illegal shootings of sea lions have been reported.
An important
part of the food chain, sea lions are a source of food for the great white shark, whose worldwide numbers are facing serious
reductions.
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Sources: La Jornada, June 5,
2010. Article by Raymundo Leon. San Francisco Chronicle, May 22, 2010. Article by Carolyn Jones. KOMO News (Seattle), March
10, 2010. Article by Denise Whitaker and staff. Guardian (UK), February 19, 2010. Article by Ian Sample.
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Frontera NorteSur (FNS)
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Reprinted
with authorization from Frontera NorteSur, a free, on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news source; translation FNS
