title: Entanglement of Australian sea lions and New Zealand fur seals in lost fishing gear and other marine debris before and after Government and industry attempts to reduce the problem.
abstract: In recent years, Australian governments and fishing industry associations have developed guiding principles aimed at reducing the impact of fishing on non-target species and the benthos and increasing community awareness of their efforts. To determine whether they reduced seal entanglement in lost fishing gear and other marine debris, we analysed Australian sea lion and New Zealand fur seal entanglement data collected from Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Contrary to our expectations, we found that entanglement rates did not decrease in recent years. The Australian sea lion entanglement rate (1.3% in 2002) and the New Zealand fur seal entanglement rate (0.9% in 2002) are the third and fourth highest reported for any seal species. Australian sea lions were most frequently entangled in monofilament gillnet that most likely originated from the shark fishery, which operates in the region where sea lions forage--south and east of Kangaroo Island. In contrast, New Zealand fur seals were most commonly entangled in loops of packing tape and trawl net fragments suspected to be from regional rock lobster and trawl fisheries. Based on recent entanglement studies, we estimate that 1478 seals die from entanglement each year in Australia. We discuss remedies such as education programs and government incentives that may reduce entanglements.
authors.affiliation: Sea Mammal Ecology Group, Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Bundoora Campus, Melbourne, Vic. 3086, Australia. b.page@zoo.latrobe.edu.au
authors.forename: Brad
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.forename: Alastair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baylis
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morrissey
authors.forename: Norna
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calvert
authors.forename: Tami
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haase
authors.forename: Mel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berris
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dowie
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Shaughnessy
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Goldsworthy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001315:Australia; D004867:Equipment Design; D005398:Fisheries; D046069:Fur Seals; D005735:Garbage; D009520:New Zealand; D018570:Risk Assessment; D046070:Sea Lions; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*