Lawmakers debate vessel‑registration donations to fund pinniped management

House Bill 21 31 would add a voluntary option to vessel registration and renewal forms to collect donations for pinniped management aimed at protecting salmon stocks in the Lower Columbia River. Staff noted NOAA Fisheries has pathways to authorize removal of pinnipeds under narrow circumstances and said a sponsor amendment delays implementation from July 1 to Oct. 1, 2026.

Representative Ed Orcutt, sponsor of the bill, described growing sea‑lion presence in tributaries and said donations would fund whatever management activities WDFW pursues under existing law. Orcutt emphasized the voluntary nature of the donations and that the bill would not change the Marine Mammal Protection Act or federal authority.

Testimony was sharply divided. Proponents from fishing and angling groups cited studies and Willamette‑area examples where pinniped control coincided with increased returns and argued donations could help implement existing removal authority where legal. Opponents — including whale‑watch operators, marine mammal rehabbers, veterinarians, and conservation scientists — said decades of pinniped removals below Bonneville Dam have not reversed salmon declines, warned that the bill's title could mislead donors because 'management' can include lethal removal, and urged the legislature to prioritize habitat, dam and water‑quality solutions.

Several witnesses recommended clearer disclosure in the bill about how donations would be spent and cautioned about high per‑animal costs for removal operations. Committee members did not vote; an amendment delaying the bill's implementation date was already in the amendment file and additional amendments were noted as possible.