Sea lions are frequently caught in fishing gear, raid catch from fishing vessels, and face retaliatory killing, requiring integrated management approaches.
Sea lion welfare involves both the welfare of individual animals entangled in fishing gear and the welfare of individual sea lions killed in lethal removal programs. Bycatch causes drowning deaths; lethal removal with appropriate methods should cause rapid death but poorly executed removal causes suffering. Non-lethal hazing methods cause distress but prevent fatalities when effective. The population success of California sea lions creates a genuine conflict with recovering salmon populations where management decisions have welfare implications for both sea lions and salmon.