Warm Ocean Blob

Warm Ocean Blob

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Hugely knowledgeable sportsmen Rob Maxey talked a little bit about ocean conditions on the West Coast and how they are affecting fish and sea lion populations. "The biggest thing with the sea lions is that they are not there this year like they have been in the past. My daughter right now is working for the National Science Foundation on a NOA grant studying the Columbia River estuary and what they say is happening is it is not an El Niño or a La Niña but they are calling it the warm blob. There is a warm chunk of stagnant water off of the Oregon and Washington coasts for about 200 miles. It is doing nothing and that has chased all the bait and fish. The ocean has been a desert this year. The fish have been nonexistent, everything has migrated out because there is no feed. As a result, the sea lions have left the area. They are out in the middle of the Pacific and other places trying to get food. It has only been in the last two weeks that the salmon runs have come in and we have seen only a few sea lions, the problems on the docs haven't happened. I have heard that they have rescued 7500 sea lion pups down in California and they are nursing them to health so they can release them. The whole thing about why we can't touch the sea lions is because we have to let nature be. Well this is part of letting nature be. They are starving to death because they have overpopulated and there is no feet. So let them starve. That's part of nature. Instead we are going to nurse them to help and put 7500 more adult sea lions in the population and the crash will be worse later.
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