Skipper must apologise for shooting sea lions

An Alaska salmon boat skipper has been fined US$20,000 (NZ$29,000) for killing endangered Steller sea lions with shotguns. Federal prosecutors say 31-year Jon Nichols was sentenced on Wednesday to five years’ probation, three months of home confinement and 400 hours of community service. US Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith also ordered him to publicly apologise in a national commercial fishing magazine.