Print PageA big drop in reported Australian sea lion deaths is being attributed to a new approach to shark fishing in South Australian waters.
Fishery closures have applied in the past two years, after a report estimated shark fishing nets were killing nearly 400 sea lions annually, a figure disputed by the shark fishing industry.
But Nick Rayns, from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, said there had been no deaths since the latest closure in April last year.
He said hooks were now being tried, rather than nets, to reduce possible contact with sea lions.
"If they do interact with hooks, which occurs very, very rarely, they tend just to take the fish off the hook which is very nice for them and annoying for the fishermen, but the nonetheless it means they don't get caught, which is the main thing here," he said.
Kyri Toumazos from the shark industry said use of hooks was only part of the answer.
"Hook fishing is not as selective as gill netting so a combination of both is probably what we need in this state to be viable," he said.
"[The] industry is suffering quite a bit ... because of our low catches, so we're working towards developing friendlier methods of fishing so we can actually access all our historical fishing areas."
