SECHELT, B.C. – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has stated that it is going to leave a sea lion carcass near Sechelt alone.
The discovery of the dead, and allegedly rotting, animal on the beach along the Davis Bay seawall was posted on the Sunshine Coast Community Concerns & FYI Posts Facebook page.
According to one post, DFO has been notified as well as conservation officers over a week ago, and that there have been “dozens of calls on it.”
The DFO said in a statement that this particular sea lion carcass is well known to Powell River fishery officers.
“However, they have determined that no further investigative action is required. Sea lion carcasses show up on Sunshine Coast beaches frequently. Removing them from the foreshore is not a priority for DFO for a variety of reasons, including the fact that this is part of nature and the decaying animal adds nutrients to the ecosystem.”
As for the cause of death, the DFO said that it was difficult to tell exactly what the animal died of, “however, there were no obvious signs of injury like a prop strike or gunshot wound.”
