A five-year-old male California sea lion was swimming north of Bodega Bay when he heard the familiar drone of an engine and swam out to investigate. It was mid-August, just before the end of salmon season. When he looked up he saw three dozen fishing lines dragging behind a commercial fishing boat. Hooked salmon flailed on the lines as the crew used hydraulic winches to slowly pull in the gear.

Hungry, the sea lion swam closer. Easily outpacing the boat, he bit into a salmon, breaking the fish’s jaw as he pulled it off the line. Once free, he took a single bite into its roe-filled belly, and left the body and tail behind. Then he bit into the next fish on the line, and the next, and the next. A trail of dead salmon littered the boat’s wake.

• Read the full story at the Point Reyes Light