Publication Date

3-2005

Series Number

148

Publisher

Department of Fisheries

City

Perth, Western Australia

ISBN

1 877098 63 9

ISSN

1035 - 4549

Abstract

Analysis of historical patterns of abundance of the Australian sea lion on the west coast of Western Australia suggests that the population size was greater prior to the impacts of colonization and commercial sealing/whaling between the 18th and 20th centuries. In addition, it is evident that there has been a reduction in the number of breeding sites along the west coast, particularly around the greater Perth metropolitan area. There is limited evidence of the impact of indigenous hunting on the abundance and distribution of this species. The major impacts on Australian sea lion populations were a combination of subsistence and commercial harvesting events from the 1700s to the 1920s. In more recent times, low levels of bycatch of Australian sea lions have been reported by a number of commercial fisheries, including the western rock lobster fishery (WRLF). Population surveys over the last three decades suggest that the west coast population is small but stable, though the impact of fishery-related mortality on this species is unknown. There is no evidence to suggest that commercial operations of the WRLF have had an adverse impact on populations of the Australian sea lion.

Number of Pages

44

Keywords

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Neophoca cinerea, bycatch, Pinnipeds, Houtman Abrolhos Islands, breeding colonies, conservation

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Environmental Sciences | Marine Biology | Population Biology | Zoology

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