Fur seal skips Sydney and heads south after landmark release
The successful release of a young fur seal back into the wild has kick-started an exciting project helping to bring back biodiversity to Sydney Harbour and supporting the NSW seal population to recover.
Minister for Environment James Griffin said an 18 month old male fur seal called “Skip” is being tracked via satellite as part of the NSW Government’s ground-breaking Seabirds to Seascapes project.
“This fur seal was rescued and rehabilitated after being found ashore and extremely underweight in a region where fur seals aren’t normally found,” Mr Griffin said.
“After spending three months in care at Sea World, Skip, as he is known by his rehabilitation team, was ready to be released at the same time our inaugural Seabirds to Seascapes seal survey was kicking off.
“We can’t protect what we don’t know, and Skip’s satellite data will help us understand how fur seals use the waters around Sydney and interact with the urban environment so we can help the species recover and thrive into the future.
“Sydney Harbour is a working harbour and an important marine ecosystem, and the Seabirds to Seascapes project is helping us restore ecosystems by installing Living Seawall panels, replanting seagrass meadows and supporting populations of Little Penguins and fur seals.”
At the time of his rescue in Queensland, Skip was suffering from a shark bite on his flipper and weighed about 10 kilograms, which is 30-40 per cent underweight.
The fur seal spent three months in rehabilitation at Sea World before being released outside the heads of Sydney Harbour last week.
It was a great success, with tracking data showing Skip travelled 100 kilometres south within the first 24 hours, and he’s currently swimming about 130 kilometres south of the NSW-Victoria border, an impressive 550 kilometres from where he was released.
The release was supported by the Department of Planning and Environment, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Sea World, the NSW Environmental Trust and a NSW Police boat.
Taronga Conservation Society Behavioural Biologist Dr Ben Pitcher said the Seabirds to Seascapes project will see scientists monitoring more fur seals across the entire NSW Coast.
“It’s exciting seeing this first seal tracked in the wild as part of Seabirds to Seascapes, with our team at Taronga keeping a close eye on data. This is a vital and timely project to restore our marine environment and support biodiversity,” Dr Pitcher said.
“We’re using the latest innovations, including drone surveillance and satellite tagging to ultimately better understand the activities of marine wildlife so we can reduce the risks of human interactions as their numbers begin to increase.”
Sea World Head of Marine Sciences Wayne Phillips said after a medical and physical rehabilitation regime, the young seal was healthy and ready for release.
“It is incredibly rewarding to be in a position to release the seal back to his normal geographic range where he will play an integral role in the conservation efforts for his species through the Seabirds to Seascapes tracking program,” Mr Phillips said.
Australian and New Zealand fur seals are protected species after they were almost hunted to extinction in Australia in the 1800s, with an estimated 250,000 killed for the fur trade.
Seals are agile and can move quickly on land, using all four limbs to run. When hauled out on the land, people must keep at least 40 metres away from a seal, and 80 metres away from a seal pup.
If you see a sick or injured seal please call NPWS on 1300 PARKS or ORRCA on (02) 9415 3333.
The $9.1 million Seabirds to Seascapes project is supported by a NSW Environmental Trust grant of $6.6 million, and $2.5 million in kind from program partners. For more information, visit the DPE website.
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