The population management plan for the New Zealand sea lion

Under New Zealand law the Minister of Conservation may approve a Population Management plan for "threatened species or other species of marine mammals ". The first such plan is for the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) , one of the rarest sea lions in the world. We describe the issues involved in the production of the plan, which include (a) estimation of the current population size based on pup counts on beaches, (b) modelling future popul ation size with little information about demographic parameters, (c) estima tion of the number of sea lions accidentally killed by fishing, (d) setting the maximum allowable level of fishing related mortality for sea lions now and in the future, and (e) the impact of a major mortality event in early 1998 which has apparently resulted in the deaths of over 50% of the year's pups, with the possibility of a high mortality rate for adults as well.