Keiko the killer whale and star of the film “Free Willy” swims around in his tank in 1998 prior to being moved from Newport to Westman Islands, Iceland.

In its efforts to get sea lions off its docks, the Port of Astoria has had to think outside the box. Thanks to a man from Bellingham, Wash., that could become a lot easier.

During his report Tuesday to the Port Commission, Executive Director Jim Knight said the agency has been approached by a man — he didn’t know exactly who it was — from northern Washington with a realistic fiberglass orca whale.

“For lack of a better term, Willy’s coming back to Astoria,” Knight said, referencing the 1993 movie “Free Willy” filmed on the North Coast.

The fake orca in question could be “Fake Willy,” the 16-foot, fiberglass killer whale bought by Seattle residents from a Scottish fish farmer as a nonlethal method to scare off sea lions feeding on salmon and steelhead at the Ballard Locks, according to a Seattle Times article from 1996.

Sea lions noted the presence of Fake Willy, according to a later Seattle Times article on the experiment, and some fled at its approach. Astoria could be Fake Willy’s comeback after two decades, as the experiment in Puget Sound proved relatively unsuccessful, and the fake orca mostly disappeared from mention after 1996.

Knight said the man volunteered to drive the fake orca down to Astoria and have it pulled around in the water near the East End Mooring Basin, where hundreds to thousands of sea lions congregate, depending on the season and the fish runs. Port staff will tow the model around, while it emits orca sounds.

“I observed two orcas at Buoy 25 yesterday,” said Port Commissioner James Campbell, who operates a marine towing company. “Hopefully we can coax them up to the east basin.”

Knight said he also heard back from Smith-Root Fisheries Technology, which had unsuccessfully tested lightly pulsing, electrified pads meant to irritate sea lions off docks. The last experiment failed because the brackish water in Astoria wasn’t salty enough for sea lions to notice the small shocks from the pads after getting wet and laying on docks. Knight said he was told the pads had been improved for Astoria’s conditions, and that Smith-Root representatives will be in Astoria today to test them out.

Several other significant news items popped up at the Port Commission meeting Tuesday:

• The Port Commission voted unanimously to authorize Knight to sign a license agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies to install a 30-foot meteorological tower and a Trimble GPS unit at the Astoria Regional Airport, provided it doesn’t interfere with the U.S. Coast Guard’s operations. It approved a related access agreement for Battelle Memorial Institute from Richland, Wash.

• Knight reported the Riverwalk Inn, owned by Brad Smithart, appears to be in transition of ownership to Ganesh Sonpatki, a Portland budget hotel operator. By February, Financial Manager Jim Grey estimated Smithart owed upward of $179,000 in delinquent rent, although he’s since embarked on a repayment plan. Smithart also owed an unspecified amount in transient room taxes to the city of Astoria, along with more than $16,000 in IRS tax liens. Smithart is preparing for the expansion of his downtown business, the Arc Arcade.