The potential ecological impacts of Long-nosed Fur Seal incursions into the Coorong (South Australia) and initial thoughts on possible management strategies.
Abstract
This powerpoint is part of a discussion around Long-nosed Fur Seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) which started visiting the Coorong (the estuary of the Murray River) in 2007. At first, they visited in ones and twos in the middle of winter, but they now they visit in hundreds over winter, with an increasing number staying in the estuary over summer. The Coorong is a 130km long back-barrier lagoonal estuary, at the mouth of the worlds third-longest navigatable river.
It is an estuary that is under a lot of strain due to over-extraction and drainage of its previous water sources. Various estimations suggest that the primary productivity of the estuary is 5-10% of its pre-European productivity levels. The local First Nations people (the Ngarrindjeri) claim that fur seals are not a natural part of the Coorong system and have presented archeological evidence backing up their claims. Ngarrindjeri elders are very distressed, as they watch their totem birds be torn to pieces by this new peak predator.
Fourth generation fishermen in the estuary are struggling financially, physically and mentally. Local birdwatchers are concerned about the ongoing viability of bird breeding sites within the estuary. This presentation is an attempt to document some of the concerns and highlight some of the potential ecological interactions of this species, within this already stressed system.
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