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Doesn't matter how many sea lions that sea world "saves". They will die when returned to the wild. There will be a giant die-off because there is no food for them. Their numbers have been artificially inflated since the last period of cold nutrient rich upwelling. Now there is no upwelling on the whole west coast of north america. No upwelling means drastically reduced phytoplankton bio-mass. No phytoplankton means no zooplankton. No zooplankton means no sardines. No sardines means bye-bye sea lion population. The beautiful clear warm subtropical water that we all love so much (including the YT) is actually killing a big part of our marine ecosystem. The kelp beds wont be far behind if water temps have a repeat of last year.
We have rose colored glasses in la jolla because we can almost always find bait. But the east pacific sardine fishery as a whole is on the verge of collapse according to CalCOFI scientists. Some even think the sardine is threatened as a species. The reason people have been feeling like the dogs have gotten worse in the last couple years is because they are all starving.
Don't hate on the dogs because you don't know how to deal with them. As a fisherman they are just as big of an asset as they are a nuisance if you know how to key in on them.
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