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