According to a model of New Zealand sea lion population growth, pup production and annual growth rates were negatively correlated with the estimated interaction rate between sea lions and the Auckland Islands squid fishery from 1996-2014, despite minimal by-catch rates following the introduction of sea lion exclusion devices for fishing nets in 2001, suggesting that exclusion devices may contribute to population decline through elevated post-release mortality or reproductive failure.
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Article #17-03165: "Marine mammal population decline linked to obscured by-catch," by Stefan Meyer, Bruce C. Robertson, B. Louise Chilvers, and Martin Krkosek.
MEDIA CONTACT: Stefan Meyer, University of Otago, Dunedin, NEW ZEALAND; tel: +64-22-037-2165; e-mail: <stefanmeyer621@gmail.com>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences