Govt’s ‘word maths’ doesn’t add up: animal activists

ANIMAL rights activists feel they have failed because they were unable to stop the annual seal harvest “We all tried very hard, and failed badly.

The clubbing of 80 000 nursing baby [seals], suckling on mothers milk (non-fish eating) begins on Sunday [yesterday],” seal rights activist, Francois Hugo of Seal Alert (South Africa), said on Friday. They have also pointed out that the quota is 90 per cent pup based – nursing pups still suckling on mothers milk, and which pose no threat to fish consumption.Over the years, Seal Alert has campaigned vigorously against what it calls the “killing and murdering of baby seals of the endangered Cape Fur Seal species”.This year was no exception.While calls for the international community, seal importers and the Namibian Government to “stop the killing” have continued unabated, their pleas have largely fallen on deaf ears – except for protests and isolated promises to ban seal product imports.Namibia unveiled this year’s quotas last week.Although the figures are lower – and the same for 2009 and 2010 – activists say it nonetheless amounts to a mass annihilation of the seals.Their objective was not to get the quota lowered, but to stop the harvesting.Full stop.Concessionaire Aldert Brink of Seal Products at Henties Bay and his team were already on their way to Cape Cross on Friday, and had to cut short an interview with The Namibian because cell-communication was starting to become “out of reach”.The Namibian had wanted to ask him how he felt about the three-year rolling quota and the reduction in quotas.In an earlier interview, Brink and other concessionaires said they were upset about the lateness in announcing the quota.They said it hindered them from making the necessary preparations for “harvesting, processing and marketing” the various seal products.At the same time he said it was hard to speculate [then] if the quota would be reduced or increased, although he added that they had only utilised about 60 per cent of the previous year’s quota.He blamed the weather, which he said had forced the seals northwards.Brink also said then that the concessionaires had long asked Government for a three-year rolling quota as he felt this would help the industry to prepare and grow.Another recommendation by Cabinet – to advise the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to consider granting exploratory rights as part of the total allowable catches (TAC) to harvest only pups on smaller existing nearby colonies – has also not been well received by the activists.Hugo said it was a case of the sealers “going after the seals that have fled (due to harvesting operations) from the big seal colonies” that are normally targeted.In addition, Government claims that 900 000 tonnes of fish is consumed by seals annually, which is more than a third of what the fishing industry lands.For this reason Cabinet decided that mitigating mechanisms be worked out by the Ministry and the industry to reduce seal predation of hake and other species.Hugo says this means that “Namibia plans a total extinction of the Cape fur seals in Namibia, whilst the seals did not cause Namibia’s fisheries to collapse from highs of 1 500 000 tonnes (30 years ago)”.”Clearly Namibia now believes that, for fisheries to get back to harvesting 1,5 million tonnes, seals must go.Clearly every single fish a seal eats (even though half their diet is non-commercial fish species), is one fish too many for Namibia,” he argued.”Even stranger, is that the quota is 90 per cent pup based (80 000) – nursing pups still suckling on mothers milk, pose no threat to fish consumption.So whilst all other age groups of fish-eating seals are exempt, including all breeding females, Namibia and its sealers will continue to allow breeding cows to mate, raise their baby for seven months, whilst consuming fish to then harvest them, to protect fish stocks.”Still, a Deputy Director in the Ministry told The Namibian that the term “culling” is wrong.Culling is used for the control of population.”It is not the seal culling season,” he said.”It is called the seal harvest.””So when will Namibia stop? Never, because with this banana republic logic, seals will go the same way as Namibia’s fisheries.Down, down, down,” Hugo said.They have also pointed out that the quota is 90 per cent pup based – nursing pups still suckling on mothers milk, and which pose no threat to fish consumption.Over the years, Seal Alert has campaigned vigorously against what it calls the “killing and murdering of baby seals of the endangered Cape Fur Seal species”.This year was no exception.While calls for the international community, seal importers and the Namibian Government to “stop the killing” have continued unabated, their pleas have largely fallen on deaf ears – except for protests and isolated promises to ban seal product imports.Namibia unveiled this year’s quotas last week.Although the figures are lower – and the same for 2009 and 2010 – activists say it nonetheless amounts to a mass annihilation of the seals.Their objective was not to get the quota lowered, but to stop the harvesting.Full stop.Concessionaire Aldert Brink of Seal Products at Henties Bay and his team were already on their way to Cape Cross on Friday, and had to cut short an interview with The Namibian because cell-communication was starting to become “out of reach”.The Namibian had wanted to ask him how he felt about the three-year rolling quota and the reduction in quotas.In an earlier interview, Brink and other concessionaires said they were upset about the lateness in announcing the quota.They said it hindered them from making the necessary preparations for “harvesting, processing and marketing” the various seal products.At the same time he said it was hard to speculate [then] if the quota would be reduced or increased, although he added that they had only utilised about 60 per cent of the previous year’s quota.He blamed the weather, which he said had forced the seals northwards.Brink also said then that the concessionaires had long asked Government for a three-year rolling quota as he felt this would help the industry to prepare and grow.Another recommendation by Cabinet – to advise the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to consider granting exploratory rights as part of the total allowable catches (TAC) to harvest only pups on smaller existing nearby colonies – has also not been well received by the activists.Hugo said it was a case of the sealers “going after the seals that have fled (due to harvesting operations) from the big seal colonies” that are normally targeted.In addition, Government claims that 900 000 tonnes of fish is consumed by seals annually, which is more than a third of what the fishing industry lands.For this reason Cabinet decided that mitigating mechanisms be worked out by the Ministry and the industry to reduce seal predation of hake and other species.Hugo says this means that “Namibia plans a total extinction of the Cape fur seals in Namibia, whilst the seals did not cause Namibia’s fisheries to collapse from highs of 1 500 000 tonnes (30 years ago)”.”Clearly Namibia now believes that, for fisheries to get back to harvesting 1,5 million tonnes, seals must go.Clearly every single fish a seal eats (even though half their diet is non-commercial fish species), is one fish too many for Namibia,” he argued.”Even stranger, is that the quota is 90 per cent pup based (80 000) – nursing pups still suckling on mothers milk, pose no threat to fish consumption.So whilst all other age groups of fish-eating seals are exempt, including all breeding females, Namibia and its sealers will continue to allow breeding cows to mate, raise their baby for seven months, whilst consuming fish to then harvest them, to protect fish stocks.”Still, a Deputy Director in the Ministry told The Namibian that the term “culling” is wrong.Culling is used for the control of population.”It is not the seal culling season,” he said.”It is called the seal harvest.””So when will Namibia stop? Never, because with this banana republic logic, seals will go the same way as Namibia’s fisheries.Down, down, down,” Hugo said.