[citation needed] In order to protect the colony, visitors are only allowed on the beach by paying to go on a guided tour.

The request was also supported by both the South Australian Ornithological Association and the fledgling tourism industry on Kangaroo Island.

A closed area for sea-lions extending from Nobby Islet to Cape Gantheaume was subsequently proclaimed under the Animals and Birds Protection Act 1946 at Seal Beach on 28 October 1954.

As of 1969, six operators conveyed total of 7525 tourists to the reserve while ‘a large number of people visited the area with private and hire cars’.

[18] The Seal Bay Conservation Park is associated with three other protected areas which support the objectives of its management plan.