Resident Charlotte Orpen discovered the dead seal pups during her morning walk on Monday.
"They were very young seal pups," she posted on social media.
"I have never seen that many dead before."
She was a regular visitor to beaches around the city and enjoyed seeing seals thrive.
She was upset to see so many dead seals at once.
"I am up and down beaches all around Dunedin and ... I am just a bit bummed out about it."
The Department of Conservation website said it took a "hands off" approach to fur seals, and advised observers to stay at least 20m away from them.
Doc also advised people to leave dead seals where they were and inform Doc if the seals were tagged or "unique looking".
An ODT photographer visited the beach yesterday and was able to see five dead seals within 2km of the carpark near the beach.
"In the event foul play is suspected, a full postmortem is conducted if possible, and Doc’s compliance team investigates.
"Doc advocates for healthy marine ecosystems.
"We keep track of reported incidents and if data shows abnormalities, we take steps such as collaborating with [Ministry for Primary Industries] — for example if there was a large number of deaths, we would join forces to investigate and screen for diseases."
Work was under way to understand the decline of fur seals on the West Coast of New Zealand, he said.
"Seals are wild animals and will defend themselves if they feel threatened.
"Adult seals can move surprisingly quickly on land.
"While they can look harmless, seals can inflict serious injuries to dogs or people and can carry infectious diseases."
