2021 State of the Environment Report Marine Chapter – Expert Assessment – State and Trend – Pinnipeds

The Marine chapter of the 2021 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "State and Trend of Pinnipeds". 
<strong><em>A PDF of the full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided) is downloadable in the "On-line Resources" section of this record as "EXPERT ASSESSMENT 2021 - State and Trend – Pinnipeds"</em></strong>



DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES/COMMUNITY FOR EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Australian sea lion
The endemic Australian sea lion (ASL, Neophoca cinerea) is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act as and the IUCN Red List (Goldsworthy 2015). They breed between The Pages Islands in South Australia (SA) and the Houtman Abrolhos Islands on the west coast of Western Australia (WA). Genetic analyses indicate that female ASLs typically breed in their birth colony, and males may disperse up to ~200km resulting in population sub-structuring at small scales (20km) (Campbell 2003; Lowther et al. 2012; Ahonen et al. 2016). There are three main sub-populations: South Australia (SA), southern Western Australia (WA) and west-coast WA. ASLs forage on the benthos over the continental shelf, with juveniles, adult females and adult males rarely exceeding depths of 90, 130 and 150 metres, respectively (Goldsworthy et al. 2010, Kirkwood and Goldsworthy 2013). ASLs eat demersal cephalopods, fish and crustaceans (McIntosh et al. 2006; Fowler et al. 2007; Peters et al. 2014). 

Long-nosed fur seals 
Long-nosed fur seals (LNFS, Arctocephalus forsteri) are listed as marine species under the EPBC Act as and globally as of Least Concern under the IUCN Red List (Chilvers and Goldsworthy 2015). Within Australia, LNFSs breed between south-west Western Australia (WA) and southern New South Wales (NSW) with most (80%) of the Australian population in South Australia (SA) (Shaughnessy et al. 2015). The species also occurs in New Zealand and was nearly wiped out by sealers in the early 1800s and populations have been recovering over the last 50 years.
LNFS breed annually and feed on shelf waters targeting pelagic and bentho-pelagic prey including fish, cephalopods and seabirds, and in oceanic waters where they target epipelagic prey (Hoskins et al. 2017). Foraging strategies and diet differ with age and sex, with adult females constrained by nursing young (Harcourt et al. 2002; Page et al. 2006; Baylis et al. 2008a, b, 2012; Kirkwood and Goldsworthy 2013). 

Australian fur seals 
Australian fur seals (AUFS, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) are listed as a marine species under the EPBC Act and globally as least concern under the IUCN Red List (Hofmeyr 2015). AUFSs are closely related to the Cape fur seal (A. p. pusillus) in southern Africa, and range across south-eastern Australia. Annual breeding occurs on offshore islands and in coastal caves from SA to NSW, with most pups born in Victoria (68%) and Tasmania (32%).
AUFS are generalist predators that forage on benthic/demersal fish and cephalopods over the continental shelf, with females typically showing strong site fidelity (Hoskins et al. 2015,2017; Hume et al. 2004; Salton et al. 2019). Prey availability can be affected by local and large-scale oceanographic processes as well as bathymetry (Hardy et al. 2017, Kliska 2015; Speakman et al. 2020). 

DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT
not supplied



2021 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]

---Australian Sea Lion---
• 2021 •
Assessment grade: Very poor
Assessment trend:  Deteriorating
Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2016 assessment
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Very poor
Assessment trend:  Deteriorating
Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2011 assessment

---Long-nosed Fur Seals---
• 2021 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend:  Improving
Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2016 assessment
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend:  Improving
Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are comparable to the 2011 assessment

---Australian Fur Seals---
• 2021 •
Assessment grade: Poor
Assessment trend:  Deteriorating
Confidence grade: Adequate high-quality evidence or high level of consensus
Confidence trend: Adequate high-quality evidence or high level of consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2016 assessment
• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend:  Unclear
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment



CHANGES SINCE 2016 SOE ASSESSMENT
Method used includes ground and aerial counts and capture-mark-resights.

Tags: expert assessment, pinnipeds, population status, state and trend
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network