‘Whale Wars’ captain offers $10K reward for sea lion killings

Someone is shooting marine mammals around Seattle and the Nisqually Delta. Eight marine mammals (six Californian sea lions, one Steller sea lion and one harbor seal) have been found dead in recent weeks, washed up on the shores of the Puget Sound with apparent gunshot wounds.

Now The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, best known from the reality show “Whale Wars” on Animal Planet, is stepping forward to help solve the crimes. They are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.

Sea Shepherd’s Captain Paul Watson talked to 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ron and Don Show Tuesday from the deck of The Steve Irwin, currently off the coast of Antarctica.

Listen to Captain Paul Watson onboard The Steve Irwin off the coast of Antarctica

“I’m hoping this reward will lead someone to come forward. This is a violation of federal law and it should be discouraged in every way we can,” said Watson.

“They’re part of the ecosystem. We need a healthy marine mammal population and a healthy seabird population if we’re going to have a healthy fish population. They’re all interrelated,” explained Watson. “You just can’t just go around killing sea lions because you don’t like them.”

In 2011, Watson’s group offered a reward of $11,500 New Zealand dollars (approximately $9,500 U.S.) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men responsible for the clubbing deaths of 23 fur seals in that country.

Watson said the reward money comes from donors.

“We’re not going to be able to live on this planet with a dead ocean. Really, this is not just the protection of our oceans, but also the salvation of humanity as a whole.”

–Producer Libby Denkmann