Posted by Eagle Ray on September 30, 2002 at 11:19:24:
Recently went on my first fishing trip in years with some friends and was shocked to sea the Captain of the boat shooting at sea lions with rubber bullets! While I have heard stories of commercial fisherman actually shooting and killing sea lions, according to my friends and others on the boat, shooting them with rubber bullets is a common practice!
Ironically, the seal lions were at the site where we finally started catching fish. It was the best spot of the day. Despite the sea lions swiming around the boat and stealing some of our bait, everyone on board was catching loads of fish at this spot. The sea lions obviously had no impact on whether or not we caught fish.
Isn't shooting at sea lions, no matter what the projectile is made of, a violation of the Marine Mammals Protection Act?