The history of the elephant seal industry at Macquarie Island and an estimate of the pre-sealing numbers

Abstract

The pre-sealing Mirounga leonina population may have been in the region of 93 000-110 000 animals. The major impact of sealing activity was between 1820-1830, when the population was reduced by c70%. Numbers are thought to have recovered to near pre-sealing levels by the 1900's, when the level of sealing was within the sustainable yield of the population. -from Authors