TRENDS IN ENTANGLEMENT OF ANTARCTIC FUR SEALS (ARCTOCEPHALUS-GAZELLA)IN MAN-MADE DEBRIS AT SOUTH GEORGIA

A study conducted at South Georgia in 1988/1989 indicated that several thousand Antarctic fur seals were entangled mainly in man-made materi al originating from fishing vessels, Consequently, the authority respo nsible for the management of Southern Ocean marine resources (CCAMLR) actively campaigned for compliance with the MARPOL provisions relating to waste disposal at sea, and for cutting of any material unavoidably jettisoned which could form collars to entangle seals, Five subsequen t years of recording entangled fur seals confirms that entanglement is a persistent problem, although its incidence has been halved in recen t years,However, the South Georgia fur seal population has approximate ly doubled in the same period, so that the overall total of animals en tangled may even have increased, Nevertheless, because most seals enta ngled are juvenile males, the current rate of entanglement will have n egligible effects on the reproductive rate of the South Georgia popula tion, especially in relation to its current rate of population increas e, The reduction in observed entanglement incidence cannot be attribut ed mainly to improved waste disposal practices because it has coincide d with substantial reductions in fishing activity around South Georgia , However, the particular reduction in entanglement due to packing ban ds and the fact that all such bands washed ashore over the last 2 Sear s have been cut, does suggest a general improvement in standards of wa ste disposal on Southern Ocean fishing vessels.