Larry Pynn in the Vancouver Sun writes: “The shared inland waters of Juan de Fuca Strait, B.C.’s Strait of Georgia, and Washington state’s Puget Sound may once again approach its former greatness. Steller sea lions have thrived since the federal government afforded them protection in 1970 — with new abundance estimates pegging their population at 48,000 animals in winter on the B.C. coast. The breeding population had dipped to an estimated 3,400 animals before their protection. Similarly, harbour seals today total an estimated 105,000 animals, one of the densest such populations on earth, compared with fewer than 15,000 in the late 1960s.”
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/oceans/Marine+mammals+coming+back+Salish/6456476/story.html