The California Sea Lions have been breeding in California and Mexico for the past few months and now they are starting to come back to the Columbia River. Some visitors flock from afar to greet the sea lions as they return to Astoria. Protected predatorsCalifornia sea lions, as well as the non-migratory Steller sea lions, fall under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, and killing sea lions has generally been illegal since the 1970s. This year, ODFW said a maximum of 389 California sea lions can be killed, but that does not mean they will remove all 389. Peak numbers of California sea lions come to Oregon usually by mid-September.