(환경) 물개와의 전쟁
(환경) 물개와의 전쟁
And the battle by the bay. What to do about an invasion of hundreds of hundreds of hungry sea lions? We leave you tonight in San Francisco where there’s a new population explosion. One that John Blackstone shows us is hard to miss, and even harder to handle. Where does a 500-pound sea lion sleep? At San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf부두 선창, just about anywhere it wants. For months, Hedley Prince has been trying to stop sea lions taking over a dock used by fishermen and pleasure boaters. “No trespassing침해, the sign says?” “That’s correct.” “What are you doing here?” “Well, they don’t read.”
Prince has good reason to worry. He's seen how they’ve taken over further down Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39. "I've never seen so many. And there's like a boom in the population of them now or something." In 1950, there were only about 10,000 sea lions on the West Coast. Today, their population is estimated at 300,000. Pier 39 alone is home to some 1,500, up from the few dozen that moved here in 1990. “It’s fascinating. I love it.”
The noisy invaders proved such a hit with tourists. Pier 39 merchants have done nothing to chase them away. But for others on the bay, sea lions have become a nuisance성가심, demanding constant vigilance경계 조심. All along the West Coast, fishermen complain about their big appetite식욕 for already dwindling감소하는 salmon. Although they're trespassing, the law is on their side. The Marine Mammal Protection Act makes it largely illegal to even bother these guys.
What he has done is put up some barriers to discourage the sea lions. But in the battle against these blubbery뚱뚱한 beasts, it's a small victory along an ever more crowded shoreline. John Blackstone, CBS news, San Francisco. And that’s the CBS Evening News for Katie Couric. I’m Maggie Rodriguez. Thanks for joining us. I’ll see you in the morning on the Early Show.