The sea lions are now being considered to be threatened with extinction. The independent conservation organization Forest & Bird wants the Government to take greater steps to guard the sea lions in New Zealand.

JPG New Zealand sea lions now have the Department of Conservation's uppermost scarce status - `nationally critical'.

"They are now in the same category as kakapo and Maui's dolphins. It is astonishing that the Minister of Fisheries has allowed 76 sea lions to be killed in this year's squid fishing season around the sub-Antarctic islands where sea lions breed. So far 40 sea lions are estimated to have been killed in squid fishing nets, and the season is not yet over", Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate, Nicola Vallance remarked.

Allowing the killing of 76kakapo by the industry is not possible. One sea lion death in a squid net is too many for a species that is directing at the breakneck velocity towards annihilation.

In the International Year of Biodiversity, the Government ought to make even greater efforts to protect native creatures, he further held.

During its evaluation of marine mammals, DOC elevated the threat status of sea lions. The total sea lion population has dropped to an estimated 9800, hence maintaining a sharp decline in sea lion pups, which are born in the recent summers.

The sea lions in New Zealand were formerly found around mainland New Zealand coasts, but now breed in a few colonies on sub-Antarctic islands and a few places on the Otago beaches.