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Fishermen Frustrated As Sea Lions Steal Fish At Discovery Park

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - There's a problem lurking right where the American and Sacramento rivers meet, a problem the fishermen would like to hook.

Something is lurking in the waters near Discovery Park.

"They look like they're hungry," said Daniel Cabera.

You may notice a ripple, an awkward change of current in an otherwise still spot.

So what has one woman so scared?

"I'm not going in that water ever again, they're gonna eat me," said Daniela Blackwell.

It's highly unlikely they want Blackwell for a snack. It's the slippery swimmers splashing under the water that sea lions are after.

"They snag up our lines, steal our fish, and get caught in cross currents," said Blackwell.

That is where the problem lies.

Fishermen are casting line after line, sweating in the sun, teased by tugs, hoping for that prized pull, only to have a sea lion swoop right in and snag their salmon.

"We reeled the fish right into us and it just ripped the salmon right in half right off our line," said Blackwell.

Blackwell and her kids want the marine mammals to turn around at go back to the ocean where they belong.

"I've seen six," said Blackwell.

This frequent fisher is also a victim of a salmon snatch attack.

"I don't catch them that often, but, man, when they take mine, that's not cool," said fisher Joe Lujan.

There have been reports of whiskered warriors waiting by boats, bringing a whole new meaning to slack line.

Why do the work when a fisherman's find is what they're after?

A few years ago, a sea lion dubbed Sgt. Nevis was shot in the head by a frustrated fisherman.

So far there has been no retaliation at Discovery Park this summer.

However, these underwater thieves are not so welcomed, and local fishermen feel it's time the sea lions find their own bait to bite.

Some fishermen say these sea lion eat 50 to 100 pounds of fish a day.

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