NOAA Offers $20K Reward After California Sea Lion Decapitation

NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is offering up to a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, civil penalty or criminal conviction after a man was seen sawing off the head of a dead California sea lion at Point Pinos Beach in Pacific Grove on July 27 at about 8:40 p.m. Witnesses said the suspect used a hunting knife, placed the sea lion’s head in a zip-style plastic bag and left in a late-model white Cadillac Escalade; NOAA released a photo and describes the man as a white male about 5'9", bald with a full beard, appearing in his late 50s to early 60s. The sea lion was already dead before the head was removed and the cause of death remains undetermined. NOAA reminded the public that harassing, harming, killing, feeding or collecting parts of marine mammals violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act and can lead to civil penalties (roughly $35,000–$36,000 per violation) and criminal penalties up to $100,000 and one year in jail. Anyone with information is asked to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 800-853-1964; tips can be left anonymously but reward eligibility requires providing a name and contact information.