This project will be collaborative with the States of Oregon and Washington, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  

Objective 1.  Conduct boat-based non-lethal sea lion hazing generally between March 1 and May 31, 2012.
Objective 2.  Develop techniques to enumerate sea lion abundance and estimate predation throughout the lower Columbia River.
Objective 3. Track movements of individual sea lions at various spatial scales in the Columbia River and near ocean areas.

Objective 1.  Conduct boat-based non-lethal sea lion hazing generally between March 1 and May 31, 2012.
The scope of the project includes a 3 person, boat-based, sea lion hazing crew operating 3 days a week for approximately 3 months near Bonneville Dam.  This crew will conduct non-lethal sea lion hazing, assist with trapping (not conduct the actual trapping) for attaching tags, conduct pinniped counts for abundance estimates, and other field duties.  

Objective 2.  Develop techniques to enumerate sea lion abundance and estimate predation throughout the lower Columbia River.
We will  implement a project to estimate sea lion predation outside of the ACOE observation area.  The ACOE observation project is limited to the Bonneville Dam tailrace area that is viewable from the deck of the Dam.  We plan to divide the river into 3 reaches for abundance estimation:  The first reach is the current area where the ACOE is providing abundance estimates.  The second reach extends from beyond the observation limit of the ACOE observers and extends to Cape Horn.  The third reach is from Tanner Creek to the mouth of the river.  Within the second reach we will use two techniques to estimate sea lion abundance.  First, in the area immediately downstream of the ACOE observation limit to near Tanner Creek, we will position a video system to record surface activity and generate an abundance estimate.  Second, from Tanner Creek to Cape Horn, the boat-based hazing crew will conduct surveys counting sea lions once to twice a week.  For the third reach, we will work collaboratively with the states of Oregon and Washington to conduct tandem boat surveys approximately three times during the season.  On these surveys observations from the boats will be used to generate a mark/recapture sea lion abundance estimate.  
Three different methodologies will be used due to the various intensity of use in those areas by pinnipeds.  The goal is to match areas with higher pinniped use with more intense observation/abundance estimation methods.  The highest area of use is near Bonneville Dam and the ACOE is addressing this area with visual observations.  The area with the next highest use by sea lions is the area just beyond the limit of observers at Bonneville Dam.  Since a lot of pinniped activity takes place in this area, we will station our video system to record a large portion of this area.  The next reach from Tanner Creek to Cape Horn has reasonably high pinniped activity, so we will make weekly abundance estimates at this reach.  The remaining reach, Cape Horn to the river mouth, will be evaluated monthly in the tandem boat surveys.  These surveys will start at Tanner Creek and end at the river mouth so we obtain a snapshot of the whole river, but estimates will be made by river segment.  

Objective 3. Track movements of individual sea lions at various spatial scales in the Columbia River and near ocean areas.
Continuous movement data on sea lions will be captured using GPS phone tags.  These tags record three behavioral states of sea lions: on the water surface, hauled out, and diving.   Additionally, the tags record depth and duration of dives and animal location in salt and freshwater.  The data is stored until the tag comes within contact of the cellular phone network and then downloads the data.

METHODS:
Boat hazing activities will occur during daylight hours between the Bonneville Dam face to 6 miles downstream.  The hazing boat will be crewed by three people (one boat captain, one data collector and one person hazing), and will coordinate activities with the state hazing boat (WDFW) and USDA hazing crews on Bonneville Dam.  Hazing will be boat-based only and include acoustic and tactile deterrents (seal bombs, cracker shells, rubber buckshot, and vessel chase) in an attempt to deter pinnipeds.  

Data on all sea lion encounters will be recorded following protocols established by the states which include the time and location of the initial encounter, species, direction of movement, fish kill information, numbers and types of deterrents used, and time, location and direction at the end of the encounter.  All data collected will be sent to ODFW/WDFW to be included in the overall hazing and monitoring evaluation.  In-season activities are summarized on a weekly basis by the Corps.  Included in those summaries are effects from boat-based hazing.  A collaborative annual report is also produced which details the project.  All activities funded by BPA will be included in this collaborative report.  

Project participants receive safety briefings from CRITFC, ACOE, ODFW, and WDFW personnel.  Briefings cover boat operations and clearance for activities in the Boat Restricted Zone (BRZ) below the dam, overhead hazards, lockout procedures, hazardous water conditions, personal safety equipment (PFDs, ear and eye protection), communications, and project planning details.  A safety protocol for pyrotechnic deployment from the boats will be discussed.  Boat teams receive briefings on vessel safety equipment and rescue procedures at the time of launch.  While inside the Boat Restricted Zone (BRZ), hazing boats maintain VHF-radio contact with the Bonneville Dam Vessel Control officer for status and vessel traffic updates.


OUTCOME/OBJECTIVES:
1. Hazing activities will attempt to deter sea lion presence near Bonneville Dam and its fishways in an attempt to reduce predation on ESA listed spring Chinook and steelhead.  While conducting these hazing activities, data will be collected and reported on sea lion:  1) abundance and distribution, 2) predation attempts and rates; and, 3) effectiveness of deterrent actions.

2. Data collected will be added to the existing state, ACOE, and NOAA databases concerning sea lion presence away from the ocean, predation on ESA and non-ESA listed fish species, and the effectiveness of hazing on deterring sea lion presence.  Data collection and reporting will be consistent with and included in a field report similar to previous years (Wright et al. 2007).

3. Estimates of sea lion abundance in different river reaches.  Starting from upstream and moving to downstream reaches: the ACOE will enumerate sea lions within the observable distance in the Bonneville Dam tailrace; between the ACOE observation limit and Tanner Creek CRITFC will deploy its video recording system; from Tanner Creek to Cape Horn (approximately 17 miles) CRITFC will conduct weekly boat surveys to estimate sea lion abundance; and, from Tanner Creek to the mouth of the Columbia monthly tandem boat surveys will be conducted in collaboration with the states to estimate sea lion abundance.

4. Using GPS phone tags CRITFC will evaluate movements of pinnipeds captured at Bonneville Dam.  Past efforts used VEMCO brand hydro acoustic equipment and detections were limited to receiver gates stationed at various locations in the Columbia River.  This year we are going to use GPS phone tags.  These tags were used by ODFW last year with great success.  This tag combines GPS locations with efficient data transfer using the cellular phone network.  The tag uses precision wet/dry, pressure and temperature sensors to form detailed dive and haulout information.  The location and behavior data is stored until the tag is within range of the cellular network and then it is downloaded.  These tags will provide continuous location and dive data in the river and in the ocean.