9 May 2007 - Wellington

Forest & Bird media release - EMBARGOED UNTIL 6.00am Thursday 10th May

Spare a thought for sea lion mums this Mothers’ Day

Forest & Bird is asking people to help sea lion mums this Mothers’ Day.

While the official number of New Zealand sea lions the Government allows the southern squid trawl fishery to kill this season is 93, the actual death toll for sea lion mothers and their pups is much higher, Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Kirstie Knowles says.

“When a female sea lion is killed in a squid fishing net, she will almost certainly be pregnant, so the pup she is carrying will also die. Back on shore her pup, which is waiting for her to return, will slowly starve to death. So every mother sea lion killed actually represents three sea lion deaths.”

The New Zealand sea lion is listed as a threatened species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and “vulnerable” due to high risk of extinction, by the World Conservation Union. In recent years the sea lion population has been in steady decline, with an adult breeding population of just 5000. Pup production has declined by 30% since 1998.

“The sea lion population cannot withstand the impact of the deaths of breeding females, their unborn pups and pups on shore. If it continues we risk pushing this endemic marine mammal towards extinction,” Kirstie Knowles says.

Sea lions were once common right around New Zealand’s coast, but now breed only on sub-Antarctic Islands. If their population was able to recover, they could once again become more than a rare sight on the mainland. More than 2000 have been killed in fishing nets in the last 25 years.

To raise awareness of the plight of mother sea lions and their pups, Forest & Bird has created a special Mother’s Day card, which it will send to all MPs and distribute to the public in the week leading up to Mother’s Day (May 13).

Forest & Bird asks that:
 The sea lion kill quota in the southern squid trawl fishery be reduced to near zero.
 The existing 20km marine mammal sanctuary around the Auckland Islands (where the sea lions breed) be extended to the 500m continental shelf edge. This would virtually eliminate sea lion deaths in the squid fishery.
 A marine mammal sanctuary be set up around the Campbell Islands.
 A population management plan be established to support the recovery of the sea lion population.

MP “Mums” from Labour, National, Greens, ACT, United Future and NZ First will be accepting their Mothers’ Day cards from Forest & Bird on Parliament’s front steps on Thursday May 10 at 1.30pm. Media are welcome to attend.

ENDS

PDF of the Mother’s Day card

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