I would like to ask the committee to also take into account the work of Professor Andrew Trites at UBC, who has researched the diet of sea lions in particular. They also prey extensively on the prey of salmon. So there's a very fine ecosystem balance there: if you take the top predator away, then the predators that prey on the salmon, in terms of smaller fish that prey on salmon fry, will then explode. He is the expert on this matter. I would counsel you to talk to him.
On November 17th, 2011. See this statement in context.