CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. -- Activists held signs in protest near the Bonneville Dam Monday, after learning of the deaths of six sea lions illegally shot in a trap over the weekend.

The protestors were from the Portland Animal Defense League and Stumptown Earth First.

They argued that the controversial trapping policy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the State of Oregon and the State of Washington is in direct conflict with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered and Protected Species Act.

Six sea lions were found dead in a trap on the Columbia River over the weekend, shot by someone illegally. When authorities found the dead sea lions, they put all future trapping efforts on hold.

The protestors blame low salmon runs on over-predation by human fishing, combined with the impact of dams and not sea lions.

They want to see the trapping and relocating of sea lions halted permanently.