New Zealand sea lion, Phocarctos hookeri, pup production 1995 to 2006

The New Zealand sea lion (NZ sea lion), Phocarctos hookeri, is New Zealand's only endemic pinniped. Classified as vulnerable, it is one of the world's rarest pinnipeds. During the 1994/95 austral summer, a long-term population-monitoring programme of the Auckland Island colonies was initiated using standard procedures to estimate annual pup production. This paper reports the pup production estimates for the known NZ sea lion population over the last 12 years (1994/95 to 2005/06), and the variation in pup production estimates for the Auckland Islands. Sixty-four percent of the pup production for the entire NZ sea lion population occurred at Dundas Island, followed by Enderby Island (19%), and Figure of Eight Island (3%). These three sites are all at the Auckland Islands, making this area the primary breeding site for this species with 86% of all pup production occurring here. The remaining 14% were born at Campbell Island, with Otago Peninsula representing <0.1%. The pup production estimates for the NZ sea lion population varied considerably by year and breeding area. The most significant change recorded was at the primary breeding site for this species, the Auckland Islands, which had a 31% decline in pup production between 1997/98 and 2005/06 owing to a combination of disease events and incidental by-catch from commercial fishing activity.