A bill allowing Native American tribes and government fish managers to kill California sea lions who threaten Pacific Northwest salmon populations passed the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Thursday.

The bill, titled the “Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act,” was penned by Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash, and Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., and is designed to improve survival rates of endangered salmon, steelhead and native fish species in the Columbia River system.

According to a press release from the lawmakers, sea lion populations have been exploding in the Pacific Northwest, killing increasing numbers of endangered native fish.

The press release said the bill gained the support of fishermen, tribal members and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

According to the press release, sea lions ate 2,928 fish at the Bonneville Dam in 2013, 4,704 in 2014 and 10,859 in 2015.