A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service did not err when it reauthorized a program targeting sea lions for death in the Pacific Northwest.

Judge Michael Simon says in a ruling issued Friday that the program intended to preserve endangered salmon by killing sea lions is within the bounds of the fisheries service.

The program was reauthorized last year.

The Humane Society of the United States says the program targeting sea lions is arbitrary. They say the animals consume, at most, 4 percent of the salmon coming through the Bonneville Dam.

The Oregonian reports commercial and sport fishers, by contrast, take nearly 17 percent.

Simon says fishery managers can scale back fishing when runs are low, but can't do the same for sea lions.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com