Dear All Cape Fur Seal Supporters,
The following article appeared today in the Cape Times. I would strongly suggest that we write to this Tour Operator and strongly voice our opinion. Details, below. For The Seals Francois Hugo – Seal Alert-SA write to ronselley@kingsley.co.za
From his website
Lambert’s Bay Boat Cruises
A west coast experience. Whales, dolphins, seals and pelagic birds. A marine experience not to be missed!
Half hour dolphin trips all year round to watch Heavyside’s dolphins, which only occur on the west coast of Southern Africa. Ferry trips across the harbour to Bird Island. Sunset cruises and extended boat cruises. Contact us for suggestions. Special drinks and dinner when arranged.
A west coast experience. Whales, dolphins, seals and pelagic birds. A marine experience not to be missed!
Half hour dolphin trips all year round to watch Heavyside’s dolphins, which only occur on the west coast of Southern Africa. Ferry trips across the harbour to Bird Island. Sunset cruises and extended boat cruises. Contact us for suggestions. Special drinks and dinner when arranged.
Tour Boat Operator, Ron Selley of Lambert’s Bay Boat Cruises the instigator of this article can be reached on ronselley@kingsley.co.za and his cell numbers are 082 969 4319 or 082 922 4334. He is also head of Lambert’s Bay NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute).
Cc: mwillemse@deat.gov.za ; jyeld@incape.co.za ; eve@africageographic.com ; lyntinaa@incape.co.za ; clenders@deat.gov.za ; stoffelf@pprotect.org ; garyp@pprotect.org ; LawrenceM@pprotect.pwv.gov.za ; verne@nelsonmandela.org ; akathrada@anc.org.za ; jbell@ifaw.org ; dnel@wwf.org.za ; nrockman@pgwc.gov.za ; president@iucn.org ; achim.steiner@iucn.org
Subject: Call for Seal Cull – Lamberts Bay
Dear Melanie,
I refer to your article for a “Call for Seal Cull to Save Gannets on Bird Island”, April 18th 2006. Ron Shelley a Tour Operator of Lambert’s Bay Boat Cruises, said “A drastic but simple solution is to cull hundreds of “protected” seals …”
Could you please reflect a more in-depth account of the true situation at Lamberts Bay. As your article has chosen to focus public attention on the “tourism” aspect for the motive for a seal cull. Why not present an alternative view. Allow nature to take its natural course. Surely the more interaction between various species the better the eco-tourism potential. If tourists delight in the ripping to shreds of seal pups by Great White Sharks, or lions of other species, surely these same tourists will delight in the natural interactions of Seals preying on seabirds. Should the seals completely take over this island, is this really such a bad thing for tourism. This would then become the only offshore island in southern Africa, where tourists can see close-up the unique interactions of seals, the birth of their young and the cute mother to pup interactions that develop.
Specific Seal Eco-tourism from one seal colony, generates over R20 million already in foreign exchange from the smallest offshore seal colony in South Africa only reachable by boat, so small its population has not been officially counted. Where over 400 000 delight in the experience of paying R50 for a boat trip to see the seals from a considerable distance. I doubt seriously with a gate-entrance fee of R10 at “Bird Island”, that this exclusively inclined seabird tourist viewing facility comes anywhere close to the revenue that can be generate from seals being present again on the island.
Penguin “bird” Island with a fishing causeway separating the majority of the island
If on the other hand, it is not a tourism position that motivates the call for a cull, but a conservation concern (Then why do the article?). Then lets please seriously put this all into perspective. Under Cites Appendix 2, both species are classified the same. It is only in recent years that Seabird Conservationists have touted the “Red Data” book of the IUCN, and then only when it developed their own SA version for Seabirds exclusively. The IUCN has no Marine Mammal or Cape Fur Seal forum of any sort. (I was even asked by them un-officially to formulate one for the seals as none existed nor any experts)
From a fly-over in March, one can clearly see that the majority of this small 2.2 ha island, has never served or was planned to contribute in any meaningful way the conservation of marine species. Its purpose since the 1980′s was purely tourist driven. How could it be otherwise, with tourist paths to disturb the birds and commercial fishing road traffic, and with the majority of the island still being used by the commercial fishing industry (on the right of the roadway)? In fact, the gannets breeding “patch” looks more like a “land-fill”, on the edge of the island, than birds breeding on the island, as too are the seals, breeding on the outer awash rocks.
Red Square indicates the area in question – a small stretch of coastline
Lets examine these issues a little deeper still. Firstly, this is not according to the Seabirds and Seals Protection Act of 1973, an island known officially as “Bird Island” nor is it known as “Gannet Island”, in fact it is known as “Penguin Island”. According to ornithologists, Penguins are more threatened than Gannets. In 1910, the Gannets physically displaced and continue to do so the penguins, and has since caused their extinction on this island. Dr Rob Crawford of Marine and Coastal Management is quoted as saying, “There are only six islands in the world were gannets bred, three in Namibia and three in South Africa”. All these islands, were in fact historical Seal Breeding Islands, where unnatural human intervention disrupted the natural order of our “protected” marine wildlife, and forced off seals from these islands. So which species in reality is actually displacing whom? Three islands where Gannets today breed in South Africa, is three islands more than seals breed on, if you consider an awash <1ha rock, not to be an “island”. If 80% of the seals are expected to live on the desert beach mainland’s unnaturally, why then can’t Gannets do the same?
Penguin 2.2 ha
Malagas 8.3 ha and Marcus 11 ha
In this area, marked by the red square. There are only three islands. Penguin Island (2,2ha), Malgas (8,3ha) and Marcus (11ha). As the aerial pics above illustrate. This total 21.5 ha, is a substantial area for breeding by seabirds, unnaturally in this area. In fact, there is a total of another 930 ha of exclusive protected islands for seabirds to breed upon, and banned to seals within a further 100km radius. No seals breeding has occurred on these islands for over three decades. It being unnaturally banned to seals. With consistent “shooting, culling and shoo-ing of seals” for decades on all these islands. [Note how the aerial pics distort the view, with Marcus at 11 ha and Penguin at 2,2 ha].
Unnaturally, the “claimed” massive increase in the seal population, which is not supported by official figures, which in fact show a 41 % decline in the pup breeding seal population over the last 3 decades in this area. Are themselves forced onto the smallest awash rocks as depicted in the pics below. From these you will see only three seal breeding colonies, Elands Bay, Paternoster Rocks and Jacobs Rocks, where in 1971, just 4804 pups were born and in 1997, just 2850 pups, 26 years later.
Elands Bay with its handful of seals
Paternoster Rock (2ha) and Jacobs Rock (0.3ha)
These three seal colonies represent the entire number of seals in this area, except for those on Penguin Island. Whilst this may look like large seal colonies, consider that aerial views give a distorted view-point. These 3 seal colonies equal 2850 pups (1997), giving a total of 11 -14 000 seals in this entire area. Whereas on Penguin Island alone there are 22 000 breeding pairs of Gannets.
The small rock in the fore-ground of Paternoster Rocks (above left pic)
showing how lack of space is having a profound effect on the seals
Lets truly put all this in perspective. In this area, there are 21.5 ha of protected island land upon which gannets can bred. Seals, although the dominant species has just 2.3 ha or just 10%. 11 000 seals are considered an over-populated thriving specie, whereas 22 000 breeding pairs of Gannets is considered threatened. Then again Kelp Gulls at 11 000 are also not considered threatened, but Penguins and Gannets are.
Cape Gannets are not endemic to the Cape. In fact, their distribution is western Sahara to Tanzania on the east, in other words the whole African continent. Why then, is it South Africa’s sole responsibility to safe guard Africa’s Gannets, that has unnaturally ensured that 98% of the Gannets now bred in South Africa.
I leave you with one additional historical thought. David Middleton wrote in 1607, “we anchored in the bay of Saldanha, Captain and Master went to Penguin Island . where we saw such abundance of seals and penguins, that it was admirable, for you may drive five hundred penguins together in a flock, and thousands of seals together upon the shore: In mine opinion, there is not an island in the world more frequented with birds and seals then this island.
There is neither a Seal or Penguin island in the whole of Saldanha Bay or its surrounds, the island referred to is now populated by over 65 000 Gannets. See picture above of Malagas.
When will these calls for “Seal Genocide” end, and common sense finally prevail in the new South Africa.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
