From: Sealalert
To: pyako @deat.gov.za ; Monde Mayekiso ; mwillemse@deat.gov.za ; Theressa Akkers
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: Protected Seals Mutilation Via Standard Fishing Industry Entanglement
Dear All Seal Supporters,
Protected
Seal Mutilation Via Standard Fishing Industry
Entanglement
six tuna tails/strapping
around one innocent victim
multiple seal entangled in group at one time
Before reading further. Your positive action
via your email could put an end to a practice that
has mutilated, hurt and killed
tens of thousands of protected Cape fur seals
over decades. Its a part of fishing, that should not be
allowed. The making and using of plastic loops
to hang fish to
freeze.
For years Seal Alert-SA has campaigned Marine
and Coastal Management (MCM) a department of the
Environment and Tourism to bring in regulations to outlaw
plastic loops used to hang fish. Which when discarded,
often with the tails still attached, results in many seal
mutilations and slow agonizing deaths. For years, MCM tried
to protect and even conceal this despicable decades-old
practice, by suggesting plastic loops originated from
storm-water drains feeding into harbours. Public concern
eventually forced MCM to appoint a "Seal-Team" to
disentangle seals. Unfortunately, it was only implemented
in one harbour, out of thirteen fishing harbours in South
Africa (the most popular tourist spot - the V&A
Waterfront). Over 1000 seals have been freed in the last
decade alone in this single harbour (bearing in mind there
is no active offshore seal colony nearby, nor is the
majority of seals found within this area, and in reality
represents less than 10% of those entangled).The remaining
fishing harbours and three thousand kilometres of coastline
- remains ignored and no seals get help.
Recently off the Alaskan coast, a 45-ton whale
was harpooned. It was later discovered that 115-years
earlier this whale suffered a similar fate, with a 12,7 cm
projectile embedded in its flesh all this life-time, when
it was shot in 1890.
Intentional pain, suffering or mutilation of a
domestic animal by its owner, is considered a criminal and
punishable offence in most countries. In other words, its
illegal and criminal. Such mutilations and inflictions of
cruelty, should apply equally to protected and indigenous
Seals (or Marine Mammals).
Seal Alert-SA now presents evidence, of who is
responsible and requests responses are addressed to MCM to
address this issue for once and for all. PLASTIC LOOPS
should be banned outright in fishing - and replaced with
a single
strand of rope/steel wire/chain that has two small
hook-eye loops at the end for
hanging.
To MCM's credit, included in the Fishing
Regulations for Handline/Pole Tuna Fisheries - 2007 (see
link to regulations)
www.mcm-deat.gov.za/rights_process/Tuna%20Pole%202007.pdf,
Ecosystem Effects on Fishing : Plastic Pollution
Interaction With Cape Fur Seals. They outline the size of
these loops/strops and that it should be double
knotted (see pic below)
Seal
Alert-SA believes a far simpler solution to this problem
would be to ban completely the making of "rope or
plastic loop", as there is clearly no compliance.
Instead a single rope or small chain with two small
loop-eye holes for hanging be created or manufactured on
either side (see pic below). As a single line/rope it can
be twisted or looped in normal fishing methods, but if or
when discarded it remains a single straight strand of rope
(thereby preventing seal entanglement). Preferably it
should be manufactured to spec, in either biodegradable
material or stainless steel chain, so that
if discarded it sinks to the bottom.
Why
concern yourself with all these details? Simply,
because after freeing entangled seals for years,
having freed hundreds if not thousands. The pain and
suffering each individual animal goes through,
sometime for years is unbearable. I have seen seals
get entangled as young pups with these plastic fishing
loops, and grow old into big bulls, deformed where
their head remains small from the neck up. Secondly,
as an ocean swimming marine mammal, location and
disentanglement is near impossible except for the very
lucky few. They cant be darted with a tranquilizer or
easily capture in a net. In some cases, it has taken
me over a year (a year of immense suffering) to free
or disentangle one seal.
Freeing a lucky seal
So who
is the culprits? Where do these plastic loops come
from?
Fish Processing Factories make them up (tying plastic rope into loose
loops), who then hand them to arriving fishermen to hook
the freshly caught tuna/longfin etc by its tail on a hook,
to be processed and freezer blasted for export/consumption.
How many loops are manufactured yearly, tens of thousands
or as many individual fish as is caught in a season.
Tuna hung from plastic
strapping.
Note no adherence to the new regulations
(pics taken on the June 13, 2007).
Bag-fulls of used strapping awaiting seal entanglement.
As the first (top) pic
illustrates, one unfortunate bull seal was found with 6
plastics strappings around his neck, with the discarded
tuna-tails. This pic provides evidence that the fishing
companies are also discarding the worthless tail section
(an illegal practice), with the used strapping, which
obviously serves as a huge attraction to the seals, who
find these discarded tails with loops attached (a source of
food), which clearly causes their entanglement.
For the thousands of
innocent seals suffering out there, please help put an
end to this despicable practice for once and for all.
Please therefore WRITE to the below, and request their
urgent attention and co-operation to ending this use of
PLASTIC LOOPS.
Deputy Director of DEAT :
Pam Yako pyako@deat.gov.za ;
Deputy Director of MCM :
Dr Monde Mayekiso Mmayekiso@deat.gov.za
;
mwillemse@deat.gov.za
Director of Offshore Fisheries MCM :
Theressa Akkers Theressa Akkers
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
021-790 8774
