Marine Debris Project Final Report 2014

and juveniles are more susceptible to entanglement. Nevertheless, they comprise a smaller proportion ofthe population which means that in addition to being smaller in size (and hence more difficult to observe),they may have a reduced chance of being observed during surveys.Our findings suggest that there is not a significant population level consequence of seal entanglement inVictoria. Overall, population numbers at these sites are increasing and combined with the expansion inbreeding colonies the Australian fur seals, vulnerability is likely to be reduced. While this does not meanthat entanglement is not a relevant issue, there are clearly other factors at play. We have not observed anoverall change in entanglement rates through time. Given that population numbers are increasinghowever, it may be that a lower proportion or percentage of animals in the population, are being impacted– or it could be that seals entangled in marine debris do not haul out as often as free seals as they need tospend more time foraging due to extra energy expended whilst entangled (Feldkamp, 1985).Reducing the incidence of entanglement on marine wildlife through policy and governance decisions iscritical in Victoria. We suggest that fisheries operating in the area using the mesh sizes within the range ofentangling items found in this study be suspended from making repairs to or discarding nets while out atsea, as this will reduce the incidence of these entangling items in the environment. Also, as seals are lesslikely to become entangled in highly visible nets such as red and yellow, creating policies implementing theuse of only highly visible nets in Australian waters may further reduce the impact of entanglement toAustralian marine wildlife. For further information and detail please contact the authors of this report.Hardesty et al. (2014) | 39