HB 5851 UPDATE, Feb. 10, 2026: The Senate Ways & Means Committee did not schedule the bill for a hearing before the cutoff, so it will not progress this session!
HB 2131 UPDATE, Feb. 4, 2026: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee had an executive session on 2/4 at 8 a.m. During that session, Chair Reeves noted that the bill had been amended, but it was not called for a vote, so it will not progress this session!
The Senate Ways & Means Committee has until Feb. 9 to hear SB 5851—a bill that would mislead the public into funding the killing of seals and sea lions under the false promise of “salmon preservation.”
SB 5851 (and its companion, HB 2131) would require the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to offer people registering their boats the option to donate to “salmon preservation” through the “management” of pinniped populations in the lower Columbia River. In practice, this language disguises a lethal control program. Most people are not told that “management” means killing animals, nor that this approach has failed to deliver meaningful conservation benefits.
We need your help to stop SB 5851 before it advances. Senators need to understand the facts about this proposal—and why it is bad for pinnipeds, salmon recovery, and marine ecosystems—before allowing it to advance:
- Killing sea lions does not save salmon. Federal estimates show that sea lions consume only a small fraction (less than 3%) of (spring and fall) adult Chinook at Bonneville Dam, where the dam creates artificial bottlenecks that concentrate predators and prey alike. Moreover, only a fraction of these are wild fish, and there is no estimate of how many would have died of other causes before spawning.
- Public opposition is overwhelming. Large majorities of public comments at the state and federal level oppose killing sea lions to benefit salmon.
- This approach has already failed. Since 2008, hundreds of sea lions have been killed below Bonneville Dam, yet wild salmon populations continue to decline and there is no evidence of benefits for Southern Resident orcas.
- Killing sea lions is inhumane and costly. Sea lions are intelligent, highly social animals that suffer extreme distress when trapped or shot, raising serious ethical concerns. Moreover, killing a single sea lion costs roughly $38,000, translating to about $203 spent for each salmon temporarily “saved.” This costly approach creates the illusion of progress while siphoning resources from real recovery solutions like habitat restoration.
For more details on each of these points and sources, see our talking points.
Take Action to Oppose SB 5851:
Contact your Senator:
Use our talking points to craft your message and call and/or email your senator. They need to hear directly from their constituents why SB 5851 must be rejected.
Not sure who your senator is? Use the district finder tool.
Washington can, and must, do better than blaming predators for problems that we caused, and only we can solve. Reject SB 5851 and stand for science-based, ethical wildlife policy that protects ecosystems, respects wildlife, and addresses the real causes of declines.
Please stay tuned! If SB 5851 moves to the Senate floor, we will need your help to stop it!
Review Bill and Latest Status Here