Government leaves sea lions to fend for themselves

Today’s Government decision to abandon the sea lion Population Management Plan leaves the species high and dry, and moves them a step closer to extinction.

“It is bitterly disappointing that the Government has ditched one of the best tools we have in the law to protect a threatened marine mammal like the New Zealand sea lion,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

The Department of Conservation today announced that it has produced a ‘species management plan’ (a generic set of guidelines) and dropped the ‘Population Management Plan’ (a legal plan under the Marine Mammals Protection Act) that the public submitted on.

“Without a population management plan, the Government decision on how many sea lions can be ‘sustainably’ killed this coming season will be made under the Fisheries Act rather than our marine protection laws,” said Mrs Turei.

“This decision shows how important it is to fix out marine protection laws, and how irresponsible it was for the National Party to vote against my recent bill to do just that.”

The Green Party’s Marine Animal Protection Law Reform Bill was voted down by the National Party late last month sparking an outcry from environment groups.

“The continued decline of our sea lion shows that the marine sanctuaries and reserves around its breeding grounds are insufficient,” said Mrs Turei. “We need a strong plan that will actually protect them.”

“Sea lion mums killed at sea result in pups onshore being left to starve when mum doesn’t return.”

72 sea lions were presumed killed by the fishery at the close of the 2008/9 fishing season.

The New Zealand sea lion was declared a threatened species under the Marine Mammals Protection Act in 1997. It is the rarest sea lion in the world.

Natural vulnerability to disease is amplified by sea lions killed in interactions with fishing vessels. It is estimate that 700 adults have been killed by Sub-Antarctic squid trawlers in the past decade.

In the absence of a Population Management Plan, fishing-related deaths of sea lions will be managed by the Ministry of Fisheries, leaving the Department of Conservation to manage other aspects under a weak non-statutory plan.