Fur Seals Are Adapting To Climate Change According to DOC Expert

The Department of Conservation [DOC] is working to inform Kiwis of the significance of fur seals in New Zealand.

With a large colony in the Eastern Bay, on Moutohorā/Whale Island, Marine Technical Advisor Jody Weir, told 1XX News that people don't realise how lucky this is.

"In British Colombia, Canada where I'm from, you hardly ever see a fur seal anymore because they got wiped out and just never came back...it is quite a privilege that we get to share our shores with these animals."

Across the world, "the seal population is significantly lower than it should be", she said.

DOC want people to understand the threat climate change and human activities pose to the fur seal colony, locally.

Warming sea temperatures meant fur seals are having to adapt to ocean changes, "quite rapidly", she said.

"Our fur seals are having to adapt and change their feeding patterns and their travelling patterns and the way that they raise their young at quite a quick rate.

"They're the number one marine mammal caught in commercial fisheries in New Zealand.

"So they're still caught in high numbers and we're working to reduce that as well."

Weir pushed for fur seals to feature on TVNZ 1's Endangered Species Aotearoa series, although they are not classified as endangered.

"I made it a point to get them on the list - they are not in the low numbers like we have with some species.

"They are not classified as endangered," she said.

"But their numbers are still much lower than they were before people came to New Zealand.

"We have had seasons where we've had a huge amount of animals die from starvation and another factor is disease.

"It is a normal part of any mammals life, we are seeing an increase in the prevalence of disease.

"Of course, we are all quite worried about if, and when, avian influenza comes because it has wiped out huge numbers of fur seals and sea lions across the sea in other places," she said.

"It's important to note you can't put your finger on one thing or another, but all of these things combined are putting a lot of pressure on our kekeno [seals]."

"Our habitat is encroaching on theirs so we're starting to have fur seals show up in public places like on roads or near roads so that can be quite risky for them as well."

New Zealand was described as a "hot spot" for climate change by NIWA physical oceanographer, Erik Behrens earlier this week.