Sea lions in Minister’s hands
Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:28 am – Posted by Kirstie_Knowles | 7 Comments
New Zealand sea lions once ranged right around our coastline, however today they are largely restricted to the isolated islands of the Sub-Antarctic – with over 85% of breeding at the Auckland Islands.
Each summer the Auckland Island squid trawl fishery takes to these water with large trawl nets that scoop up squid. As well as picking up squid however, the fishing nets catch a number of sea lions. As rule-maker & whistle-blower, one of the first questions facing the new Minister of Fisheries – Phil Heatley - is how many sea-lions can be killed this season?