Status of Australian and New-Zealand Fur Seals at Maatsuyker Island, Southwestern Tasmania

Abstract

Surveys were carried out between 1987 and 1989 on Maatsuyker I. and nearby Needle Rocks off southern Tasmania to establish the status and identification of the seals present. New Zealand fur seals, Arctocephalus forsteri, were found on Maatsuyker I. There were at least 15 pups born on the island in 1987/88. Australian fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, use the islands as a haulout site but do not breed here. The distribution of New Zealand fur seals can now be amended to include Tasmanian waters. Records discussed here also alter aspects of the status of Australian fur seals because the Maatsuyker group is not a breeding site for this species and breeding colonies are therefore restricted to Bass Strait waters.