Sea lion consultation extended

Sea lion consultation extended

The public have an extra 10 days to comment on the draft New Zealand sea lion/rāpoka Threat Management Plan.

Following a number of requests for an extended submission period, due to the large amount of background information available, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) have decided to extend public consultation on the draft plan until 5pm on 19 August 2016.

DOC’s manager of marine species and threats, Ian Angus, said DOC and MPI recognise there is a large amount of background information to support the consultation process and a large number of stakeholders are interested in recovery of the sea lion.

“Given the number of interested parties, such as treaty partners, stakeholders and community groups, we feel it is in the best interest of sea lions to extend the submission period,” Ian said.

By yesterday (Monday), DOC had received a total of 2449 submissions. 1335 were from WWF, 1083 from Forest & Bird, three from Our Seas Our Future (online submission forms), and 28 from individuals.

The plan will provide a long-term programme to manage threats to sea lions and reduce their population decline.

These threats include disease, commercial fishing, changes in food resources, pups drowning in holes, male sea lion aggression and human disturbance.

ENDS

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