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