Subject: Pin-Pricks on a Map - too Large an area for Cape fur Seals
Date: January 29, 2007
Dear All Cape Fur Seal Supporters,
A recent article, by associate professor Peter Ryan in the next edition of Africa - Birds and Birding, he writes an article titled "Going, going Gannet ...". The article refers to the decline in the gannet seabird population breeding on previously extinct seal breeding islands (to which no mention is made), and which sights seals as a major threat to seabirds, whilst admitting that the collapsed fisheries from overfishing in the 1970s spells doom for this species.
Its is this so-called intellectual scientific mumbo-jumbo that is the cause of all these marine creatures off our shores predicament. Seals (as with many other species) are all dependent on the same food source, and if it has drastically declined, so too are they endanger. Yet, where 75% of the Cape fur seals have been forced to re-locate to the mainland in Namibia, its policy is an annual population reduction or cull.
So thanks to Google Earth and Nikki, I thought I would give you a clear impression visually, of what we are facing and therefore need to do.
The African
continent is a large mass of land, surrounded by
many tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline.
Along this entire African coastline, the only species of
seal, or actually sea-lion (because it has external ears
and walks on all four-flippers) is the Cape fur seals.
Whose original breeding habitat (is marked by the small
pink square), at the tip of Africa.
On the map above (the
pink square), covering a distance of about 250
kilometres from Hout Bay (where Seal Alert-SA is based)
near the bottom of pic, and Saldanha Bay in the north,
ly several offshore islands. Robben Island (Dutch word
for seal) being the closest to Hout Bay and the largest. To
the Cape fur seals, these islands represented over 85% of
their offshore breeding habitat. There is 4% of this type
of islands on the east coast, and 11% more off the Namibian
coast. To the Cape fur seals, these barren offshore
islands, was as sovereign as the island off the African
east coast Madagascar, or Mauritius, Seychelles or even as
Australia is to its people.
In the global African
continent context, a pin-prick of offshore land (in
relatively speaking), so small not even a pin-prick would
suffice or accurately mark its position. In further
context, for the terrestrial wildlife in southern Africa
alone, over hundred million hecta of land is earmarked for
their future conservation. For the Cape fur seals, as an
entire species (shared with at least thirty other species
of seabird), it is just one thousand hecta, or 0,001
of what terrestrial wildlife have.
Sealing, and in particular sealers
from Europe and the America's caused the complete
extermination of this species of seals from these few
islands. Since 1900, they have remained either extinct, or
unnaturally banned to Cape fur seals.
This species of seal, historically
was only found breeding on offshore islands.
Seen in further
context, (looking at the African continent map), this
pin-prick on the map, based on current pup densities per
square metre ( in its pre-undisturbed pristine state) could
have supported over two million pups born. Less than 2%
remain. Overall, taking the displaced seal pups on the
mainland in Namibia, as well, and the population at its
peak in 1993, was less than 16%, of its former self. But
lets not get scientifically or mainstream conservationist
like, lets rather visually visualise for ourselves. Lets
say upon this pin-prick of offshore land, over 4 million
babies were born at its highest population possible (double
the highest pristine state).
Is it such a bad, bad thing? So
bad in fact, that both South Africa, and currently Namibia
have in place, policies which annually reduce the seal
population, (even though it is at 8 - 16% of its former
size) or in relation to its habitat less than 2% remaining,
by way of a commercial cull - that has continued, annually
for over six decades. If all the Cape fur seals, tomorrow
journey back to just one single island, Robben and
re-located there, they would as an entire species occupy
less than 20% of this one island.
The
small awash rocks (and three others like it), at the
centre-bottom of the pic above, off Hout Bay, is whats left
of the seals in this region. The islands long ago became
extinct.
This is what Seal Alert-SA is all
about, returning seals to these offshore islands ( in many
cases named after them, protected and in some cases world
heritage sites). Its why I work with seals everyday - to
understand them, and why we have a seal centre, and
equipment to be like seals at sea. Aboveall, it is
why, I spend an entire year, rehabbing a select group of
babies, as a possible means of discovering clues in how to
re-locate them - all, one day, back to their endemic and
historical islands.
If you understand this, and agree
with it, that we are in essence trying to save an entire
species, (today numbering less than a million) already
extinct from 99% of its former habitat (the pin-prick of
offshore land on the whole African continent) and who needs
to be saved from gun-shots by 30 000 fishermen, tens of
thousands drowned and entangled in commercial trawl nets,
banning from islands, restricted to awash rocks where up to
100% unnatural mortalities occurs to its new-born babies
from drowning, or the commercial culling in Namibia of 85
000 nursing baby seals (aged 7-months), that causes 75% of
the Cape fur seals to flee daily in terror for half the
year, eventually causing tens of thousands (the lucky ones
that escaped the 50% sealing baby pup quota), to beach
themselves elsewhere, even 1600 kilometres towards the
Cape, and slowly starve to death.
If you do, and are as disgusted and concerned
that this type of thing can go on, then join with me - and
lets physically do something, that they the seals can feel
and touch. Not talking about saving seals in campaigns, but
physically saving them.
To repeat, less than 2% remains on this
pin-prick of tiny offshore land, yet its Namibia's and
South Africa's policy, to ensure through restricting seals
to awash small rocks (banning them from larger islands) and
annual mainland commercial population reduction culls - to
further reduce this pin-prick of the only species of seal
found breeding on the whole African continent.
It all starts, with the babies born each year.
The following links, will give you an idea of our latest
endeavours (Its the personal experiences of Nikki and her
visit to our new Seal Research/Rescue centre).
http://www.sealalert.org/Updates/2007/Update-2007-01d_en.htm
http://www.sealalertsa.net/nikki.htm
http://www.canadianvoiceforanimals.org/SA_SealCentreUpdate.htm
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
