Photo: Sealord
Fishing company Sealord says new measures have helped reduce the number of seal deaths while fishing.
The company's boats caught 49 seals in the 2023-24 season down from 68 the year before and 78 in 2021-22.
Sealord resources manager Charles Heaphy said the population of New Zealand fur seals or kekeno has exploded in recent years, which correlates with skippers reporting a noticeable increase
"Trying to avoid them has become a real issue for our skippers, we never want to capture a marine mammal and are always looking at ways to reduce unintentional captures.
"In relation to seals, we looked at what mitigation methods were working well overseas and have been trialling them with success in our fleet."
Heaphy said seals tend to mostly stay at the top of the water and get caught when fishers are shooting or hauling their nets.
"We introduced net binding which involves loosely tying the top of the net so it is closed when it enters the water and seals can't get in.
"It took trial and error to keep the net closed at the top when shooting the gear, but Sealord vessel the Thomas Harrison did this successfully with each shot this year in the Cook Strait."
Sealord is also avoiding fishing at dusk and dawn when fur seals are most actively feeding and has also started using seal exclusion devices, a net that is designed to help seals swim out of a fishing net if they are are accidentally caught.
"Reducing fur seal by-catch is a strategic priority for Sealord - it's part of the 'oceans and fisheries' workstream of our sustainability working group," Heaphy said.