8x the predators would probably make a big difference. I'm usually reluctant to point to predation as a leading cause of salmonid declines, but it's hard to dismiss an eightfold increase in predators relative to a time when the fish were much more abundant. Shouldn't we assume that such a dramatic increase in predators would have similar effects on the salmon populations?

It will be interesting to see what this turns up. Either way, 30,000 pinnipeds seems pretty far out of balance....