ocean lions are , in many ways , the doggos of the sea . They hunt in packs , for illustration , and will do anything for a scooby snack or two . And , just like a pupper , they shoot that sweet spot of intelligence : smart enough to arrange a glorious food heist , but not so cagey that they ’ll actually leave the scene of the offence .
Just ask prole at the Rant Point farm , near Tofino in British Columbia . A few weeks ago , a horde of nearly two XII ocean lions wield to bring out into the industrial salmon farm , getting past the netting and electrical fences designed to keep them away from the delicious bounty within , and started gorging themselves silly on fish .
And they ’ve been there ever since .
“ They are having an all - you - can - eat counter right now , ” Bonny Glambeck , who works with local environmental mathematical group Clayoquot Action , toldCBC .
Rant Point is own by Oslo - establish aquaculture titan Cermaq , and it can boast up to 500,000 farm salmon at any time . That micturate it kind of perfect for the ocean Leo , who normally hound bycorrallingtheir target into one billet and picking off soul one - by - one – it ’s “ the equivalent of pose a cattle feedlot in the middle of Banff National Park and then being surprised when the bears and wolves show up , ” Glambeck distinguish theToronto Star .
It ’s probable the sea lions got into the farm thanks to the onset of harvesting season , Cermaq said in a statement shared with the Star . The fish are usually kept freestanding from the palisade waters by a series of net fences , but the harvest home process open up up “ opportunities for memory access ” which are n’t normally there , the company explain .
But while watching a clump of ocean - doggos living their best anarchist life-time may be good for the individual , it may yet prove spoiled for the sea lions themselves . It turn out giant potbelly do n’t care having their product stolen from powerful under their noses , and Cermaq is presently trying everything they can to get free of the pinniped political party creature .
“ Attempts to deter the sea lions and to remove them from the net pens , with least harm to the animals , have been on-going in interview with DFO [ Fisheries and Oceans Canada ] biologists , ” DFO authorisation toldCTV .
While there ’s a “ strict necessity ” that no ocean social lion are killed , the section read , the brute have so far “ not been discourage by passive deterrent efforts to remove them ” – include attempts to frighten them away with loud bang .
“ I consider the longer they abide , the more habituated they become and all the noise and other thing just become part of the background randomness , ” Andrew Trites , director and professor at UBC ’s Marine Mammal Research Unit , told CTV . “ [ So ] it ’s not going to be effective . ”
But the longer the sea lions remain in the farm , the more upset local conservationists get for the cheeky fauna ’ safety machine .
“ We witnessed [ a ] sea Leo going over one of the fence jumping right into a ‘ Bronx cheer net ’ , which is suspended net above the pen . He struggled for quite some time to relinquish himself , ” Glambeck toldThe Guardian . “ There ’s a lot of ropes and hoses around , so we ’re progressively implicated about web . ”
“ They ’re very level-headed animals and it ’s so dishearten and heartbreaking to see these animals being potentially harmed by this industry , ” she add together .
For now , Rant Point is locked in a harvest - off between farm workers and sea lions .
“ Several methods are being use including the use of containment textile and dynamic harvesting of targeted cage to belittle any potential impact , ” the Cermaq statement enunciate , according to the Star . “ The website will be fully harvested by the third week of April . ”
Until then , it ’s unbelievable the sea lions will prefer to go away of their own accord , Trites say .
“ This is a sentence of the year when males in special are bulk up , ” heexplained . “ They ’re looking for food for thought , more to eat , and these Pisces farms appear to be like we just arrived at the deli . ”
