Each
year dozens of sea lions die a painful, terror-filled death in the gigantic
trawl nets of the Auckland Islands squid fishery. Click here to discover how many have died this fishing season.
New Zealand has an international reputation for championing
the rights of marine mammals. Yet while we rightly criticise the actions of
those who deliberately kill marine mammals -like Japanese whalers- we have failed to effectively
protect our native New Zealand sea lions in our own waters. Over 2000 of these
threatened animals have been killed by the Auckland Islands squid fishery in
the last 25 years.
The 20km marine mammal sanctuary around the
Auckland Islands and yearly "quota" of sea lions are not providing
adequate protection. Almost all the recorded sea lion deaths have occurred within
a 20 to 100-km radius of the Auckland Islands.
Forest & Bird's Campaign
Forest & Bird wants better protection for the New Zealand
sea lion.
Forest & Bird does not consider any number of sea lion
deaths to be an acceptable consequence of squid fishing. The fisheries-related
deaths of these vulnerable marine mammals can and must be eliminated.
The current 20km marine mammal sanctuary around the Auckland
Islands needs to be extended to protect all sea lions. Extension to just the 500m depth contour surrounding the Islands would protect most sea lions (92%). A no-trawl zone, in the
form of a Marine Mammal Sanctuary, would virtually eliminate sea lion deaths.
There should also be a 20 kilometre Marine Mammal Sanctuary around the Campbell
Islands to protect sea lions that breed there.
If the area was a marine mammal
sanctuary, other forms of squid-specific fishing such as squid jigging would
still be allowed in the sanctuary, but not within 20km of the island. Jigging
involves the use of lines and hooks that pose minimal risks to non-target species.
(a) Current Marine Mammal Sanctuary – 12/22km (b) Entire Shelf along 500m contour
Distribution of foraging female sea lions in 2002, 2003 and 2004 (dots) and the degree of protection offered by the Marine Mammal Sanctuary (black line) currently in place (a) and if it were extended to the 500m contour continental shelf edge (b). (Images obtained under the Official Information Act)
Campaign Goals
The sea lion kill quota in the southern squid trawl fishery be reduced to near zero.
Extension of the Auckland Islands Marine Mammal Sanctuary to the 500m continental shelf edge, which would allow squid jigging.
Establishment of a Marine Mammal Sanctuary around
the Campbell Islands.
A robust Population Management Plan that supports the growth and expansion of all NZ sea lion populations.
To reduce sea lion deaths to zero in all fisheries.
To ensure consideration of the needs of marine mammals and
other marine life are key factors when the Ministry of Fisheries sets fisheries
catch limits, for example, with the squid fishery.
Current Policies
The Department of Conservation is currently working on a new policy to protect New Zealand sea lions. Forest & Bird submissions are as follows:
After a lengthy campaign by Forest & Bird, the government
established a 20 kilometre Marine Mammal Sanctuary around the Auckland Islands
in 1993. However, there is no management plan for the sanctuary.
Forest & Bird campaigned unsuccessfully in the mid 1990s
for a 100 km marine mammal sanctuary around the Auckland Islands to protect
the threatened endemic sea lion. We called for a ban on trawling within this
area and for the squid fishery to use jigs (hooked lines) rather than nets.
As a gesture to sea lion protection, an upper annual limit of 65 sea lion deaths
was set for the squid fishery and a 12 nautical mile marine mammal sanctuary
was established. In 2003 this area was established as a marine reserve.
In 2006, Forest & Bird launched its "Save our Sealions" petition urging the Government to reduce the number of threatened New Zealand sealions that fishing vessels are allowed to kill in the southern squid fishery each year to close to zero.
This petition was signed by over 20,000 New Zealanders. Despite this, the 2006/07 seal lion quota was set at 93 animals.
In May 2007 Forest & Bird produced a sea lion Mothers' Day card which thousands of people sent to the Minister of Fisheries, asking him to reduce the sea lion kill quota for the southern squid fishery to close to zero for the 2007/08 season. Member of Parliament "Mums" from various parties accepted the Mother's Day card at Parliament to help raise awareness of the sea lion's plight.
Each
year dozens of sea lions die a painful, terror-filled death in the gigantic
trawl nets of the Auckland Islands squid fishery. 
