Some restrictions have been introduced on fisheries in South Australia and Western Australia to prevent seals drowning or being injured in nets and pots, the threatened species scientific committee’s advice said. 100% of Austral Apart … Although fishers have reported low levels of interaction with Australian sea lions, it is hard to have confidence these are a true indication of the real numbers of deaths. A recovery plan had been in place since 2013. Breeding colonies are located only on remote areas of the coastline or islands and only 66 breeding colonies are known Such low abundance colonies are highly vulnerable. The Australian sea lion population decreased due to harvests in the 17th and 18th centuries and traditional subsistence hunting by aborigines (Goldsworhty & Gales 2008). She said it was possible the chemicals were causing developmental and immune system problems that made it harder for them to survive the parasitic hookworm, but much more research was needed. Rising sea levels caused by global heating inundating some breeding sites was also an emerging threat, she said. The reproduction process for the Australian Sea Lion is very different from that of other Sea Lions. “I have seen some colonies halve in pup production in a decade. Currently, the biggest threat to Australia sea lion colonies are gillnets, which are invisible, thin mesh nets suspended in the water. Scaling down steep cliffs on Australia's wild south coast with 400kg of camera equipment was just one challenge faced by documentary makers filming the dwindling sea lion population. Most of the time a colony has a breeding season of four months with the other species. current threats to the Australian sea lion in Australian waters and to make recommendations on the future research necessary to protect this species. They have been recently removed from this list, and the population has remained stable at around 10,000 animals (World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 2000). The total number of population varies from 12.290 to 13.090, including 6.500 mature individuals. The sea lions are known to get caught in fishing nets and lobster pots, in particular gillnets set on the ocean floor in the same places where the seals forage for food. “This is an alarm bell. The Australian Marine Conservation Society acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of this land and sea country, and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. The population is estimated to be Its breeding range extends from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia to The Pages Islands that lie east of Kangaroo Island in South Australia. They have an 18 month cycle rather than one 12 months in length. In a statement, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water said the ongoing decline was a concern and the state government had spent $680,000 in the past five years on research. Thousands of AMCS supporters wrote to the WA Fisheries Minister asking him to ensure Australian sea lions were protected from fishing in WA. The Australian Sea Lion is a sexually dimorphic (two body forms) species, with the adult males up to twice the weight and length of the female. The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) population at Seal Bay Conservation Park, South Australia, is estimated to be declining at a rate of 1.14% per breeding season. The playful Australian Sea Lion is a fascinating creature and one of the rarest in the world. The population of Australia’s only unique seal has fallen by more than 60% in just four decades, with experts worried about the fate of the species, according to a study of the number pups born at breeding sites. The number of Australian sea lion pups is now at just 2,739 across 80 known breeding sites off the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia, according to the … “I think we should be really concerned,” said Prof Simon Goldsworthy, a scientist at the South Australian Research and Development Institute who led the research, published in Endangered Species Research. Currently, the Australian sea lion is a threatened species (listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN) with the population … The longer than normal (pinniped) gestation and lactation periods allow the female to nurture a developing fetus and growing pup while having to forage. Australian sea lion populations were decimated in … The colonies are smaller, and are therefore at even more risk from fishing deaths. Australian sea lions, Neophoca cinerea (Péron, 1816), have stocky bodies, large heads and short narrow flippers. There is no time to waste.”. Alexia Wellbelove, of conservation group Humane Society International, which nominated the species for endangered status, said sea lions should now be prioritised for government funding. The numbers of blue whales, southern right whales and subantarctic fur seals were increasing. Veterinary scientist Rachael Gray is conducting a trial at Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, with a topical treatment that could help the endangered species' population recover. “It scares me that the population is declining at the rate we have seen,” said Gray, who was not involved in the study. “The Australian sea lion is an endangered species, in part due to historical sealing in the 19th century, where whole colonies were wiped out. Identification. He said the Australian sea lion was one of four marine mammals listed as endangered nationally, but the only one that was in decline. Compilation of research on PFAS in … SD Goldsworthy, B Page, PD Shaughnessy, A Linnane (2010) – Mitigating Seal Interactions in the SRLF and the Gillnet Sector SESSF in South Australia. Some sea lions may be shot by fishers who view them as a threat to the fish they are attempting to catch. Due to the close proximity between the fishery and sea lion colonies, fishing was killing a high number of sea lions. And when a sea lion does get killed, further areas are closed to all gillnet fishing to ensure sea lion colonies do not decline even further. Seeing these declines has been really worrying.”. Apr 22, 2021. The population is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This report also indicated that this rate of fishery-induced deaths was too high for the sea lion populations to withstand – bringing Australian sea lions closer to extinction. This paper is an updated summary of a more detailed Australian Sea Lion Technical Issues Paper produced in 2010 (DEWHA, 2010). Unlike other sea-lions, the species only breeds every 17-18 months, with Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island supporting the third largest colony of Australian Sea-lions with a population of around 1,000. The Australian sea lion's unusual life history enables it to survive as a very small population scattered over a wide, in places nutrient-poor, longitudinal range. They were listed as “rare” in the 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Isolated reports of deliberate killings have persisted into the 21st century as well (DEWHA 2010). They have a breeding cycle of about 18 months, but unlike other seals, the timing of the breeding season can be unique to each colony, even those that are only a few kilometres apart. The areas of sea directly around sea lion breeding colonies are closed to gillnet fishing, and now, every fishing boat that fishes anywhere near sea lion colonies has to have cameras on board to monitor what is being caught. Saving Australia’s sea lion population Every sea lion pup in Australia contracts hookworm. The distribution of Australia sea lion colonies in SA overlaps with a fishery managed by the Federal Government agency, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). Gillnets are used by commercial fisheries to capture sharks, predominantly for the ‘flake’ and chip market in Australia. It is probable we will lose some of these breeding sites in the near future if we don’t arrest the declines.”. "The Australian sea lion is an endangered species, in part due to historical sealing in the 19th century, where whole colonies were wiped out.The numbers of Australian sea lions … The overall population of the Australian sea lions is currently decreasing, and in the UICN Red List the species is classified as Endangered (EN). The Australian sea lion is Australia’s only endemic seal and one of four marine mammals listed as endangered, but the only one with declining numbers. The decline in Australian sea lion population is ‘really worrying’, according to study leader Prof Simon Goldsworthy. The species mostly inhabits islands but also a few mainland sites, the principal breeding colonies being located at Kangaroo Island and Dangerous Reef in South Australia. By 2014, the population had dropped to an estimated 6,500 and continues to decrease. The distribution of Australia sea lion colonies in SA overlaps with a fishery managed by the Federal Government agency, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). In addition, commercial fishers were not reporting how many sea lions were being killed to AFMA, so the true cost of fishing to the species was hidden. Clinton Syers, a fisheries manager at WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, said in a statement that a 17,390 sq km network of gillnet exclusion zones had been in place around all Australian sea lion colonies in the temperate demersal gillnet and demersal longline fishery since 2018. Both sexes of the Australian Sea Lion have stocky bodies, a large head and short narrow flippers. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/14961110/alert-on-walls-of-death-fishing/ — could we find a stronger source. Adult males measure between 2-2.5 m in length and weigh 250-300 kg, while adult females measure between 1.3-1.8 m in length and weigh 61-104 kg (a sexually dimorphic species). This means that through the activity of AMCS, our wonderful supporters and other environmental organisations, potentially hundreds of vulnerable Australian sea lions have been protected from drowning in this fishery. Not only is the WA Australian sea lion population likely to be more at risk than in SA, the regulation and monitoring of interactions is far worse. Saving Australia's sea lion population. “Importantly, no interactions with [Australian sea lions] have been reported since the zones were introduced,” Syers said. The number of Australian sea lion pups is now at just 2,739 across 80 known breeding sites off the coasts of South Australia and Western Australia, according to the research. South Australia and Western Australia coastlines. But unlike SA, there is even less known about the sea lion populations in WA. Australian sea lions are fully protected within Australia. Toxic fluorocarbons to keep our water (and bodies) clean and healthy. Apart from size, their sexes are easily identified by coat color. The funding had supported population research in South Australia that had contributed to the change in threatened species status to endangered, which the statement was as a result of of new information “rather than a genuine deterioration in status”. Similarly to SA, a shark fishery in WA overlaps with Australian sea lion colonies around the WA coastlines. In 2018, the WA Government established sea lion protection zones around breeding colonies, areas where no fishing with gillnets is permitted. The males are dark brown with mane-like yellow areas on their necks and the tops of their heads. Historically hunted for their fur, Australian Sea Lion numbers are at such low levels that the species is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under Australian law. Australian sea lion populations have plummeted by more than 60 per cent in four decades, and are already under pressure from hookworm and tuberculosis outbreaks. The numbers of Australian sea lions haven’t recovered since humans ceased hunting them and numbers are actually declining,” Dr Gray said. Lone or small numbers of animals will regularly visit known haul-out sites and occasionally visit other locations. However, Australian sea lions also get snagged in the mesh of gillnets and drown. Sea lion distribution diminished, with breeding sites from Victor Harbour, South Australia to Mallacoota, Victoria and across the north coast of Tasmania “When you see these declines at this level at tiny colonies, they are incredibly vulnerable. Goldsworthy said the mammals are notoriously hard to monitor. Their entire population lives along the southern and western coastlines of the Great Southern Reef with about 85% living in South Australia and the other 15% in Western Australia, and they are the only endemic pinniped in all of Australia. The new research - part of a long-term health study of seals and sea lions in Australia - identified the chemicals in animals at multiple colonies in Victoria and South Australia from 2017 to 2020. These beautiful animals live in colonies made up of small populations along the coastline of South Australia (SA) and Western Australia (WA). However, the Australian Sea Lion has an open window of up to 9 months. In late 2020 the federal environment minister, Sussan Ley, raised the status of the Australian sea lion from vulnerable to endangered after recommendations from the threatened species scientific committee. Dr Rachael Gray, from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science in the Faculty of Science, is conducting world-first research on sea lion pup mortality. The only solution to accidental gillnet deaths and other fishery-related deaths of sea lions is to close the areas where sea lions forage for food out at sea, and prevent fishing with gillnets in those areas. Found only in Australia and one of the most endangered pinnipeds in the world, there are estimated to be 10,000-12,000 Australian sea lions between The Pages Islands in South Australia and Houtman Abrolhos off the Western Australian coast. Fishing boats in the SA fishery are subject to 100% observer coverage – so sea lion deaths are reported. The advice said it was too early to know if the measures had helped. The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) is the only endemic species of pinniped found in Australian waters. This means that if a sea lion gets killed, it now gets reported to AFMA. Goldsworthy said there were now only four breeding sites producing more than 100 pups and less than 15 pups are being born at half of the 80 sites. Their females are silver gray to light tan to dark brown on th… Gray has been part of a program to test, treat and microchip pups at Seal Bay to allow detailed research into each newborn’s progress. Australian sea lion numbers are estimated to be around 12,500 individuals – this small population makes the Australian sea lion one of the rarest pinniped in the world. At birth pups are coloured silvery/fawn and as they mature females retain this colouration, whereas males turn darker brown and they develop thick skin and fur on their neck. Current population estimates of 10-12,000 animals make Dot points came from here – http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=22 –, Fish icon by Sergey Demuskin from the Noun Project. We acknowledge that this land and sea was and always will be Aboriginal land and sea. 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