Unique Australian sea lion listed as Endangered

The recent analysis has shown that the Australian sea lion should have always been listed as Endangered, rather than the lower category of Vulnerable it has been upgraded from.

Historically, the main threat to the Australian sea lion was commercial hunting which ended in 1949. More recently the species has been threatened by entanglements in fishing gear; occurring during active fishing and when gear is lost and discarded.

HSI was pleased to work with the Australian Government and the commercial gillnet fishing sector to put in place measures in 2010 which have significantly reduced sea lion mortality around South Australian breeding colonies. Gill nets are invisible thin mesh nets suspended in the water to catch sharks for the flake in fish and chips. With bycatch limits triggering temporary area closures, sea lion mortality rates have declined dramatically from an estimated 142-266 per breeding cycle before 2010 to less than 4 per breeding cycle since.

Similar measures were put in place in Western Australian gill net fisheries in 2018. Whereas, WA and SA Rock Lobster fisheries have installed sea lion excluder devices.

Ms Beynon concluded, “Humane Society International hopes the benefit of fisheries management measures to protect Australian sea lions will soon show up in improved population numbers. Reduced mortality from fishing will give the species a greater chance against other threats such as marine debris and climate change.”

HSI thanks the federal Environment Minister and the Threatened Species Scientific Committee for prioritising increased protection for the Australian sea lion. HSI looks forward to continuing to play an important role to help Australia's own unique sea lion recover.

Humane Society International
https://hsi.org.au