Marine Debris Project Final Report 2014

subsequently removed from seals on Seal Rocks and Lady Julia Percy Island, Victoria, Australia from 1997 to2012.We set out to ask if pinnipeds in Southern Victorian waters are subject to entanglement dangers, and if so,in what types of material? We present entanglement data collected over 15 years (1997-2012). From thiswe can describe types of entanglement items most likely to ensnare pinnipeds in the region and detect ifthere is a correlation between age and the likelihood of entanglement.We recorded material type, colour, overall size, mesh size, diameter, number of threads, whether the itemwas braided, twisted, knotted, if it was monofilament and number of strands for all entanglement items.We also noted the date, seal age (pup, juvenile, adult), location (Seal Rock, Lady Julia Percy Island, KanowaIsland, Berry Beach, Cowes jetty or Western Port Bay), and severity of injury (wether cutting deep orsurface wound), whenever possible.We estimated entanglement rates using the observations of entanglement during the excursions to thecolonies. In the sixteen years of data we were able to analyse, we had information for 138 individualentanglement items. Fifty percent (n=69) were made of plastic twine or rope, 20% (n=27) were made ofother plastics such as plastic bags, packing straps, balloon ribbon etc., 17% (n=24) were monofilament line,including gill nets and 8% (n=11) were comprised of rubber. The remaining 5% (n=7) consisted of metalitems (such as hooks and lures) and cotton (a baseball cap that resulted in a neck constriction).Seventy-two (n=64) percent of recorded seal entanglements occurred at Seal Rocks, with Lady Julia PercyIsland accounting for 17% (n=15). The remaining 11% (n=10) were spread over other areas of the coastlineincluding Kanowa Island, Berry Beach, Cowes jetty and Western Port Bay.In assessing whether animals are entangled in all colour of items, we found that for twine/ropeentanglements, 61% (n=43) involved green material. Grey and white coloured items accounted for 10%(n=7) and 9% (n=6) respectively. When examining monofilament line, clear and green (52% and 26% (n=12)(n=6) were recorded more than other colours as having entangled seals. White plastic strapping formed themajority (67%, n=6) of the strap entanglements.Age of seal entangled was only recorded on 49 (35.5%) of the entanglement samples. An overwhelming94% (n=46) of entanglement events involved young (juvenile or pup) seals, with more pups (53%) thanjuveniles (41%) being recorded as entangled.Hardesty et al. (2014) | 37