Bayfront Walk in Newport

Art?

Yaquina Bay Bridge from The Newport Bayfront

Not enough room  for the big guys in the new "capture cage"

A beautiful,sunny day on the waterfront in Newport Oregon. Jack and I were hoping to see more fresh fish for sale on the piers during todays "Wild Seafood Festival" but it seems like most of the catch was sold out by 10AM. We still enjoyed walking along the bayfront,and we always get a kick out of the noisy Sea Lions napping on the docks.

Over the years, many visitors to Newport's Bayfront have observed sea lions with various forms of entanglement in marine debris, typically plastic "packing bands" wrapped tightly around the neck, cutting into the animal's skin, blubber and muscle.

Because entangled animals are generally active and defensive, options for removing debris are very limited. Sea lions will not tolerate close approach and unrestrained anesthesia is deemed too dangerous for the animals since a sea lion injected with drugs by a pole or dart would likely flee to the water only to subsequently drown.

A custom-built capture cage has been deployed at Port Dock 1 to address this problem of sea lion entanglement. The cage is basically a modified floating dock enclosed on four sides by a galvanized steel structure, with sliding doors on two sides. It is designed primarily to serve as an additional haul out area for sea lions to use freely, with its doors locked in the open position so animals can comfortably come and go as they please. If an entangled Sea lion is observed in the cage, responders from the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network will then have an opportunity to close the cage doors and confine an affected animal so safe and proper removal of debris can be performed.