Federal law enforcement officials are hoping the offer of a $20,000 reward will lead to information in the shooting of a 2-year-old sea lion found in early August in critical condition with a bullet in the chest at Bolsa Chica State Beach that later died.
The incident was reported to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement division after a rescue team from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center brought the animal in for treatment.
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Federal officials announced the reward offer on Tuesday, Oct. 8, saying they are taking this violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act very seriously and hope the reward will unearth information about what is becoming a crime seen all too often.
So far this year, NOAA reports there have been 12 gunshot cases in California. From 2020-2023, the average has been about 20 per year.
“We offered the reward in this case because the shot animal was found on a very public beach and we hope that the reward will help prompt anyone who saw or heard something to report it to us,” said Michael Milstein, a NOAA spokesman. “The animal was found alive with a relatively fresh gunshot wound that caused its death shortly afterward.”
The state act prohibits the harassment, hunting, capturing or killing of marine mammals and penalties of up to $34,457, up to a year in prison, and forfeiture of any vessel involved could be faced.
Dr. Alissa Deming, lead veterinarian and vice president of conservation medicine at PMMC, said she is “glad” the little sea lion the rescuers later named Espy “is getting some attention” and federal authorities are taking the shooting seriously
Deming said the center was alerted by someone who saw the sea lion on the beach between lifeguard towers 22 and 23 on Aug. 7, and reported it acting oddly.
But before the PMMC rescue team could arrive, Deming said the sea lion got spooked and returned to the water.
“Two hours later, he came back out probably because his condition was declining,” she said. “He had a chest wound and was having difficulty breathing.”
The team caught up to the ailing animal and took him back to the Laguna Beach hospital. An x-ray confirmed he’d been shot, Deming said.
He died overnight while the medical team was working to stabilize the animal.
Deming estimated the wound had been sustained one or two days before the sea lion was found, saying it “hadn’t healed and results showed that he had an infection and collapsed lungs.”
Following his death, a team at PMMC performed a necropsy and recovered the bullet, Deming said, using strict guidelines that require how the bullet is handled and safely stored to preserve evidence.
Gunshots, she said, are the “most common sea lion and human interactions.”
While people are allowed to use non-lethal methods to deter marine mammals from damaging private property, the efforts can not result in an animal’s death or injury, NOAA officials said.
Many times the injuries go unnoticed, or, in some cases, the marine mammals heal on their own, so the PMMC has made it part of standard protocol to get X-rays of all the marine mammals rescued to track how many have been shot. A report compiling that data is expected to wrap up later this year.
“We can’t expect NOAA to prioritize this if we’re not doing a good job to show how pervasive this is,” Deming said. “It’s challenging to police the ocean, but there are always witnesses. This reward will remind people this is illegal. Hopefully, someone knows about this and will step up.”
At the Marine Mammal Center in Los Angeles, gunshots are also frequently seen, said John Warner, the San Pedro center’s director. “It’s just been a steady stream.”
Several recent cases involved sea lions the center had taken in during springtime, cared for, and then released.
“At least three were patients that we picked up again with gunshots and then died in transit,” Warner said. “Those take an emotional toll because we put in a lot of time and care.”
The center has a sea lion in its care now that was found on a jetski ramp at Burton Chace Park in Marine del Rey. He initially was brought in because of a shark bite on his rear flipper, but then the center’s staff recognized he had a problem with his jaw.
“He could barely open his mouth, and we found out there was a bullet there,” Warner said, adding the care team is letting it heal, and the sea lion is doing well.
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In 2020, NOAA offered a similar reward for the killing of an elephant seal near San Simeon. The reward prompted information that led to an arrest and a sentence of three months in federal prison for violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA also offered a reward last year after a boater drove through a raft of sea lions on the Columbia River.
“So far, there have been further developments in that case,” Milstein said.
While he said he can’t discuss the ongoing investigation into the sea lion found at Bolsa Chica, a prosecution would be “up to the U.S. attorney to determine whether evidence prompted by the reward is sufficient to bring charges.”
With the California sea lion population doing so well, Deming said she’s also involved in research to examine how humans and sea lions can successfully share habitat along the coastline.
“We need to find productive ways to let fishers fish and keep marinas clean,” she said. “But we also need to have safe places where sea lions can haul out and rest when they’re foraging.”
Anyone with information can call 800-853-1964. A reward of up to $20,000 may be paid if information provided leads to the issuance of a civil penalty or criminal conviction.