Seals, Rocha Department, Uruguay

South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) can be found along the southern coasts of South America, from Peru to Uruguay. These marine mammals used to come to rest especially on Lobos Island and Cabo Lino though they don't breed and raise their pups in these parts of their range. In October 1991, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing through the National Fishing Institute (now the National Directorate of Aquatic Resources), became responsible for the conservation of this specie along the country’s coasts and islands. They issued a decision which prohibits hunting. The public opinion played an important role in that decision; especially the environmental organizations which advocated for the sustainable management of this natural ressource. Many studies are undertaken to monitor the fur seal population dynamics and all aspects related to the breeding and rearing of pups or their mortality rates. Some see the constant growth of these fur seal colonies as a possible cause for the depletion of valuable fish –fishermen of Cabo Polonio complain that the fur seals compete with them–, others argue on the contrary that an increasing population of seals is a decisive evidence of fish abundance.