New market evidence on the depletion of southern fur seals: 1788–1833

Historical records of the number of southern fur seal skins sold on the Canton and London markets before 1833 indicate that a minimum of 7 million seals had been killed. This total is significantly larger than previously estimated, by at least 20%. It follows that studies monitoring the recent recovery of southern fur seals ( Arctocephalus sp.) will need to increase their estimates of the numbers of seals present before foreign sealing began, and reduce their estimates of post‐exploitation recovery rates. Regional subtotals will also need to be re‐examined, which should provide an opportunity to meet suggestions that the original fur seal stocks at New Zealand and the southern islands were much greater than previously estimated.