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No evidence of cryptic bycatch causing New Zealand sea lion population decline
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-22, 00:56 authored by Roberts, J, Childerhouse, S, Roe, W, Geoffrey BakerGeoffrey Baker, Sheryl HamiltonIn PNAS, Meyer et al. (1) analyze whether exclusion devices in trawl nets contributed to New Zealand sea lion (NZSL; Phocarctos hookeri) population decline at the Auckland Islands. We refute the primary conclusion from their correlative assessment: that annual pup production changes (as a measure of population size) were primarily driven by cryptic bycatch of adults in sub-Antarctic trawl fisheries. We also contest their interpretation that sea lion exclusion devices (SLEDs), used throughout the Auckland Islands squid trawl fishery since 2004, “…can obscure rather than alleviate fishery impacts on marine megafauna” (1).
History
Publication title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of AmericaVolume
115Issue
36Pagination
E8330-E8331ISSN
0027-8424Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
Natl Acad SciencesPlace of publication
2101 Constitution Ave Nw, Washington, USA, Dc, 20418Rights statement
Copyright 2018 The AuthorsRepository Status
- Restricted