Coorong fishers adopt 'ninja' tactics as protected fur seals tear holes in nets

In South Australia’s Coorong, commercial fishers say long-nosed fur seals are tearing man-sized holes in their nets and stripping out catches, forcing a shift to rapid “ninja” fishing tactics in a bid to protect gear and livelihoods. Tracy Hill, who runs Coorong Wild Seafood with her husband, Glen, at Meningie, said the number of seals in the lagoons had fishers frustrated and counting the cost.

“Even if you’re sitting on your gear, the seals will be at the other end of your net, ripping your nets to pieces and pulling the fish out,” she said. After a six-month algal bloom, she added, “It’s made this year particularly difficult.” Hill said they now try to outrun the animals.

“We do what we call ‘ninja fishing’, where you run out, throw your nets in the water, hope to hell you catch some fish, and then pick them up and take them home and hope the seals don’t turn up,” she said. If seals move in, fishers leave the area alone for a couple of days.

Coorong operators use large and small mesh gill nets to target species including mulloway, black bream and mullet. Long-nosed fur seals are protected under state and Commonwealth legislation, and their presence along the South Australian coast has been an ongoing point of tension with fishers for years, previously prompting calls for culls.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW) said the species is endemic to the state’s waters and that counts in the Coorong have been conducted since 2015. The spokesperson said the most recent annual figures showed a mean population of 90 in 2024 and 108 in 2025, with numbers fluctuating seasonally, trending upwards in the cooler months and peaking in winter.

“DEW and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) continue to work with the commercial industry on long-term management strategies,” the spokesperson said. That includes a SARDI research project assessing the economic and ecological impacts of seals in the Lakes and Coorong region.

The research is in its final stages of review and will be reviewed by industry to help inform future actions. Hill said the pressure has been compounded by the seasonal movement of mullet. Fish were present in good numbers until January before undertaking a “breeding run” out of the River Murray mouth and into waters north of Kangaroo Island and around to the Yorke Peninsula.

She said such a run had not happened for some time and she was unsure whether it was linked to the recent algal bloom. With the research nearing completion, authorities and industry are pointing to data-driven management as the next step. For now, fishers say they are adapting in the short term—setting fast, retrieving faster, and hoping the seals don’t arrive first.