Sea Lion populations in Southern California are not at record numbers due to two years of El Niño conditions seriously affecting the food chain starting with the kelp forests. The warmer than normal water over the past two years brought about an increase in sting ray populations and bottom animals are thought to be the main menu of juvenile Great Whites.
There is and has never been "culling" of either seals or sea lions in California - that is ridiculous and you'd be doing serious prison time for killing marine mammals here. Sharks are not stupid and they are not "mistaking" swimmers for sea lions. They are however quite curious and target of opportunity feeders. They have no moral qualms apparently when it comes to finding out if something might be good to eat. If you're unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time - - - prayers for the poor gal who was bitten at SanO.
Never claimed that sea lions have ever been culled, merely a suggestion to help balance the shark population. My statement about sea lion population was a general statement not necessarily specific to Southern California. Here is a little source info so you can educate yourself:
* Population: The U.S. population of California sea lions is currently estimated at up to 300,000 animals, all on the Pacific coast. From an estimated population of about 10,000 animals in the 1950s, U.S. California sea lion numbers have grown rapidly since the 1970s and the species is now at “carrying capacity”—near the highest level the environment can sustain—according to wildlife biologists. A population survey conducted in 2006 by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) documented 1,200 California sea lions and 1,000 Steller sea lions near the mouth of the Columbia River alone.
Source:
* http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/sealions/facts.html