Despite its common name, the
New Zealand fur seal (
A. forsteri) is a pinniped native to South Australia. Efforts to overcome that confusion have led to the increasing use of the common name, "long-nosed fur seal".
1800–1899 The species was heavily hunted by sealers in the early 19th century. Seals were clubbed to death by men who raided seal colonies and rookeries by boat, sometimes swimming ashore armed with clubs and knives. The sealers typically bludgeoned the animals to death and used knives to skin the carcasses. Pups were usually killed along with their mothers, but sometimes kept as pets. The hides of the seals were pickled in brine and exported, and the oil was a valuable source of income. Seal hunting continued to occur in Gulf St. Vincent into the 1880s. The colony of South Australia was only officially established in 1836, and so no baseline data exists for the South Australian seal population prior to the impact of hunting by Europeans. The gradual recovery of the population, spanning the past century, has brought them into increasing conflict with the state's fishing industry.
1900–1949 The killing of seals in South Australian waters continued into the 20th century, on the assumption that they were in competition with fishermen. 7,000 to 8,000 were estimated to have been killed in the six months prior to August 1918. One man alone, S. H. Sheridan of Glenelg, admitted to having killed 1,430 seals during that period on the islands of
Spencer Gulf.
Captain S. A. White, an "ardent nature lover", said of calls that seals should be killed for allegedly competing with fishermen: Seals were known to enter inland river systems and were seen as far up the
Murray–Darling system as
Deniliquin, from the mouth of the Murray. A hotel at
Conargo once displayed the skin of a seal shot in the river nearby. Other accounts of inland seal sightings prior to 1933 include at
Tyntynder,
Pental Island,
Echuca and near
Swan Hill. Other sighting locations include Loxton and Mildura. Seen in this inland context, seals were often referred to as
bunyips or otherwise misidentified. In 1940, some fishermen claimed to have suffered damage to their nets which they attributed to seals. The Chief Inspector of Fisheries and Game at the time suspected that some of the damage had not been done by seals, but rather by sharks. At that time, fishermen in the neighbouring state of
Victoria were allowed to shoot seals which interfered with their fishing efforts or equipment.
1950–1999 In 1954, W. W. Jenkins suggested in Parliament that an open season should be called to keep "pest" seal numbers in check. Fisherman A. W. Lundstrom wrote that, before the barrages were built across the River Murray, seals were often seen near the town of
Goolwa. Construction of the
Goolwa Barrages began in 1935 and they were completed in 1940. Lundstrom, acting as President of the Southern Fishermen's Association wrote of the seals: "We as fishermen still maintain that the seal is a menace to the fishing industry in the same way as the
rabbits,
dingoes or
kangaroos are to the landholder." The article in which Jenkins is quoted also claimed that seals consumed up to of fish each day. In a written reply, A. Keith Minchin, Director of Adelaide's Koala Farm, called the claim "a colossal exaggeration" and wrote that even a large seal would consume less than of fish daily. In 1967, it was alleged that fishermen were harpooning seals and dolphins in South Australian waters and using the meat as crayfish bait. The claim was refuted by W.R. Thompson, a government fisheries inspector. He stated that permits to cull seals could be made available, and had been previously when net damage caused by seals had been demonstrated. At the time such permits were to be issued "only when deemed absolutely necessary." In 1984, Australian sea lions were reportedly responsible for damaging the nets of fishermen near Victor Harbor. Fishermen's applications for permits to kill the animals were rejected due to the species' low population. As of 2015, the Australian sea lion remains an endangered species.
2000–present The southern bluefin tuna ranching industry was established in the early 1990s and reported increasing interactions with fur seals in the 2010s. That led the industry to seek permission to kill seals that they claimed they could recognise. Marcus Stehr, son of
Hagen Stehr and executive of the Stehr Group, told
The Advertiser in 2012 that fur seal interactions were costing their
southern bluefin tuna ranching aquaculture business "at least $1 million" annually. He stated: In 2015, Dr Brad Page told the ABC that the population had reached 100,000 animals. He also stated that most of the fur seals' diet consists of
red bait and
arrow squid, and not species which are typically caught and sold for human consumption. In August 2014, two decapitated New Zealand fur seals were found in
Louth Bay, southern
Spencer Gulf. The circumstances of their death were regarded as suspicious. In June 2015, the prospect of seal culling in South Australia became a subject of increasing public debate and controversy. Mounting frustration among fishermen led some to admit that they would consider taking action themselves in order to protect their livelihoods. A seal was also killed at Murray Bridge after being hit by a boat during a ski-racing event. Approximately five seals were seen in the area, and the event was cancelled after the animal was hit. Its injuries were assessed by a local vet who then put the seal down. In July 2015, fishermen from the Lower Lakes and Coorong region reported that fur seals had damaged their fishing nets. In August 2015, Narrinjeri elder and fisherman Darrell Sumner admitted to having killed at least four seals and injuring another. He threatened to kill more animals in the future, and believed that the seals were killing pelicans, his people's totem animal. The Narrinjeri believe that pelicans embody the spirits of their dead ancestors, and has said that he didn't care that killing or hurting the animals was an illegal act under "white man's law". Fishermen believe that seals are competing with wild catch fisheries, and have reported net damage that they claim was caused by fur seals.
Southern bluefin tuna ranchers have reported stock losses at their sea-cage aquaculture operations. Regions in which claims have been made that fur seals are affecting fisheries and aquaculture businesses include: Kangaroo Island, the
Lower lakes and Coorong, and southern
Spencer Gulf. == Status ==