Pup production and breeding areas of Australian fur seals Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus at Kanowna Island and The Skerries in north eastern Bass Strait.

Abstract

THE breeding distribution of the Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) is restricted to offshore islands in Bass Strait, southeastern Australia (Warneke and Shaughnessy 1985). Breeding colonies are currently established on only nine islands but there is historical evidence to suggest that several other islands within Bass Strait once accommodated breeding sites (Warneke 1982). Prior to the largescale commercial hunting (1798-1825), the annual total A. p. doriferus pup production is estimated to have been between 20,000 – 50,000 but these numbers were severely reduced as a result of overexploitation (Warneke and Shaughnessy 1985).