Seal Conservation Society: 1998 News Digest

Fishing limits imposed to protect Steller sea lions - The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, a federal. agency reporting to the U.S. Department of Commerce, ordered on 13 December that restrictions be placed on the commercial catch of Alaskan pollock, an important prey of the endangered Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. The move came after the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), having held public consultation meetings, and against the background of a lawsuit currently being filed against it by various environmental groups (see News, 22 November), advised the Council to provide additional protection for the species. The NMFS cited mounting evidence that fishing for Alaskan pollock at various times of the year and in some critical habitat areas may reduce food availability for the declining western population of Steller sea lions. The restrictions divide the 1999 pollock fishery into four instead of two seasons, expand no-trawling buffer zones around Steller sea lion rookeries, and prohibit entirely all fishing for Alaskan pollock from Aleutian Island waters south of the Bering Sea. The final restrictions were the result of days of negotiations amid protests from the fishing industry, who argued that the restrictions were too severe and that the Steller sea lion decline has been due to environmental factors and illegal hunting, and from environmentalists who argued that the restrictions were still too weak. The 1999 commercial Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska catch of Alaskan pollock, the largest U.S. commercial seafood catch, has been set at 1,092,920 tonnes, down from the 1998 level of approximately 1.2 million tonnes.

The NMFS also published proposed regulations in November that would divide into two seasons the Aleutian Island catch of Atka mackerel, a primary prey species of Steller sea lions. The proposed regulations would also reduce the percentage of Atka mackerel taken from Steller sea lion critical habitat over a four year period, as well as expanding the no-trawl zones around several rookeries into a year-round closure. In the meantime, research carried out on the effectiveness of no-trawl zones around Steller sea lion rookeries has so far proved inconclusive. Although there was an apparent increase from 1991-96 in the number of non-pups in rookeries surrounded by 20 nm (nautical mile) no-trawl zones, rookeries surrounded by 10nm zones saw a continued decrease in non-pup numbers. For more information, contact Wendy Dunlap-Harding. Scientists in British Columbia are meanwhile claiming that a study of Steller sea lion nutrition indicates that the decline in the population has been due more to nutritional stress, the sea lions being forced to prey on the less nutritional 'junk food' Alaskan pollock by a reduction in the numbers of more nutritional fish such as herring, sandlance and capelin. For more information, contact Andrew Trites, University of British Columbia.

For the NOAA/NMFS Press Release and Biological Opinion on Steller sea lion - North Pacific fisheries interactions, see NMFS Press Release. (Sources: Reuters; NOAA; Congressional Research Service; SeaWeb; The National Post) (27 Dec 1998)

Research shows Canadian harp seal hunt is unsustainable - A paper written by the Canadian marine mammal scientist David Lavigne, due to be published in the June 1999 issue of Marine Mammal Science, has shown that by taking into account seals 'struck and lost' along with the hunts in both Canada and Greenland, an estimated 400,000 to over 500,000 harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in the Northwest Atlantic population were killed last year. The article indicates that, due to seals being struck and lost, up to 40% more seals are killed by the hunt each year than are actually caught and processed, and that as a result the hunt has exceeded quotas by up to 100,000 seals in each of the past three years. It also shows that the overall kill figures, which exclude the additional mortality from fisheries bycatch, exceed the current replacement yields of the population and that the population must be declining as a result.

These findings come at a time when the Canadian government is deciding on the 1999 harp and hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) Total Allowable Catches (TACs), expected to be announced shortly. In face of the research evidence, the Canadian Fisheries Minister, David Anderson, has stated that he does not believe that the harp seal population is in decline. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), WWF, Sierra Club of Canada, Greenpeace and the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies have all called for a reduction in the harp seal TAC. Joining them in the call for a reduced hunt were 22 prominent Canadian scientists, including 11 from Memorial University in Newfoundland, who wrote to the Fisheries Minister on the subject. In the meantime, twelve members of the U.S. Congress have written to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright declaring their opposition to the Canadian seal hunt and urging her to take action, while 169 European politicians, including 70 British MPs and 74 Dutch MPs, have signed a joint formal letter of protest to the Canadian government calling for a reduction in the hunt. The Canadian Sealers Association is seeking a 10% increase in the harp seal TAC.

It was reported that U.S. NOAA officials met on 16 November with Canadian officials and constituents interested in amending the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow the importation of seal skins into the United States. NOAA officials indicated that it was unlikely that the NOAA would support such an amendment.

For more information on these developments, contact IFAW or the International Marine Mammal Association. (Sources: Ottawa Citizen; IFAW; ENN News; St John's Evening Telegram; Ottawa Globe and Mail; Congressional Research Service) (27 Dec 1998)

Canadian seal hunt regulations reviewed - The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has finished collecting comments on 13 proposed changes to the country's seal hunt policy and regulations from over 80 stakeholders. One of the proposals is to ban the killing of harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) whitecoat pups for any reason, current regulations allowing the killing of whitecoats for personal use only. Other proposed changes deal with issues such as licensing, training, gear and the extent of utilisation of the seals killed. Included in the submission of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) were calls for increased enforcement, better access for observers of the hunt, and changes to bring the hunt up to the standards for the humane treatment of animals as outlined in the Criminal Code.

The Animal Alliance of Canada, International Wildlife Coalition and Animal Protection Institute refused to take part in the process, citing the DFO's unwillingness to receive comments on issues such as the establishment of conservation limits, scientific information on the number of seals and their impact on groundfish, and issues that arise from public debate of the hunt, including cruelty, repeated violations of the regulations and the failure of enforcement. Meanwhile representatives of the Canadian sealing industry, discussing the proposed changes at a November conference in Newfoundland, expressed interest in the proposal to relax the regulations to allow the killing of young 'blueback' hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) at only a few days or weeks old, the current limit being about 14-16 months. Any changes in the regulations, last modified in 1993 with little consultation, will probably not take effect until the 1999-2000 season at the earliest. (Sources: CP; Animal Protection Institute) (27 Dec 1998)

Six tons of fishing debris collected in Hawaii - A cooperative federal-state-private cleanup operation in early November amassed 6 tons of discarded fishing nets from coral reefs inhabited by endangered Hawaiian monk seals (Monachus schauinslandi) near French Frigate Shoals in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. SCS Note: The mortality of Hawaiian monk seals by entanglement in fishing nets and other marine debris has generated concern in recent years, individual seals often having to be disentangled by field workers. (Source: Congressional Research Service) (27 Dec 1998)

Area of Alaskan land purchased by Exxon Valdez Trustee Council - A 41,750 acre parcel of land on northern Afognak Island in Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago has been purchased for US$70.5 million by the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council, the body charged with administering the funds resulting from Exxon's obligations after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Purchased primarily to protect the area from logging and to help its ecosystem recover from the oil spill, officials stated that the parcel of land was also important for seals in the area. Of the parcel, 5,520 acres will be incorporated into the federal Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, the remainder added to Alaska's Afognak Island State Park. (Source: Reuters) (27 Dec 1998)

Fishermen call for Nova Scotia seal hunt - The Canso Trawlermen's Cooperative in Nova Scotia has called for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans to consider opening a seal hunt in the province, arguing that seals are jeopardising the local fishery. (Source: CIGO-AM) (27 Dec 1998)

IMO recommends ban on tributyltin use by 2008 - The International Maritime Organisation (IMO)'s Marine Environment Protection Committee has recommended that ship owners should stop using the anti-fouling chemical tributyltin (TBT) by 1 January 2003, and that the presence of the chemical in marine paint be completely banned by 1 January 2008 (see News Digest, 23 November). Research has shown that pinnipeds are among the many marine species which are being poisoned by TBT and related chemicals. Most industrialised nations banned the use of the chemical on vessels under 26m in length in the mid-1980s and some nations, such as Japan, have already adopted a total ban. The Committee's recommendation will be placed before the IMO General Assembly next year. For more information, contact Sian Pullen, WWF-UK Marine Programme. (Source: ENN News) (27 Dec 1998)

U.K. organisations call for curbs on 'gender bending' chemicals - Environmental campaigners from the Marine Conservation Society, Friends of the Earth, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, WWF-UK and Greenpeace have called on the U.K. government to eliminate the threat of around 100 Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) which have been found to change gender in some marine species. Pointing to suppressed immunity and behaviour disruption in harbour (Phoca vitulina vitulina) and grey (Halichoerus grypus) seals around the U.K. coast as being examples of the effects of these chemicals, the organisations blamed discharges of EDCs into the country's rivers and seas on sources such as factories, farms, offshore activities and sewage works. The call emerged from a conference on EDCs in the marine environment which took place in London on 23 November, and which was coordinated by the U.K. organisation Wildlife and Countryside Link). (Sources: Scottish Daily Mail; Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society; Reuters) (27 Dec 1998)

Seals affected by Wadden Sea oil spill - Leaking oil from the cargo vessel MV Pallas, which caught fire and then ran aground in the German Wadden Sea, has affected harbour seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) and is providing a potential threat to the only grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) colony in German waters. Beached on a sandbank south west of the island Amrum in the Schleswig-Holstein National Park on 29 October, part of the 600 tons of fuel oil and oil sludge aboard the vessel has been steadily released through the vessel's damaged hull and approximately 20,000 birds have been covered in oil, more than 2,000 having died. Some oiled harbour seals, which breed in early summer, have already been observed and one oiled harbour seal has been euthanased. Sand banks which are used by harbour and grey seals as breeding areas have been partially polluted with oil and there is concern that grey seals, which pup during the winter months, will be affected by the oil although this year they seem to be avoiding their normal breeding areas. Strong winds and rough seas have hampered the clean-up operations. WWF-Germany has asked prosecutors in Hamburg to examine whether criminal proceedings can be brought regarding the killing of protected species and the pollution of water and soil. For more information, contact Annette Gerdiken, WWF-Germany, at Tel: +49-421-65-84-620, Fax: +49-421-65-84-612. (Sources: Reuters; WWF-Germany) (22 Nov 1998)

Pinnipeds in Peru to receive extra protection - The Peruvian government has authorised the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to help manage the Punta San Juan wildlife reserve, a remote 133 acre peninsula 300 miles south of Lima. The reserve is an important site for South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) and South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis), thousands of starving sea lions and fur seals dying on the reserve during the 1997-98 El Niño event. It is thought that only 30,000 of the 180,000 sea lions that lived along Peru's Pacific coast before the El Niño now remain. The agreement allows WCS to safeguard the site for the next eight years and to establish a conservation, training and research centre there. For more information, contact Stephen Sautner, WCS, at ssautner@wcs.org. (Source: ENN News) (22 Nov 1998)

Details revealed of Canadian ringed seal export agreement - It has been revealed that the letter of intent signed by the Qikiqtaaluk Corp., from the new Canadian territory of Nunavut (see News, 31 October), is for the export of 2,000 ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida) a month to the China Heilongjiang International Project and Technical Co-operation Group (CHPT) Corporation in a deal worth an estimated C$1.7 million a year. The seals will be purchased from Inuit hunters at a projected price of at least C$50 per seal and processed in Canada before shipment. CHPT's President has stated that he hopes to have the deal finalised by January and that he wants a seal processing plant up and running in Iqaluit by next year. There is no existing quota for ringed seals which are not at present hunted commercially. The Canadian Sealers Association is supporting the development and has revealed that it believes that Inuit lobbyists, due to their position as aboriginals, may be able to convince politicians in the United States to relax the ban on the import of seal products to the U.S. during the reauthorisation process of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1999-2000. (Sources: Nunatsiaq News; National Post) (22 Nov 1998)

Action plan for Mediterranean monk seals reviewed - Experts on Mediterranean marine mammals from 19 countries met in Arta, Northern Greece, on 29-31 October to review existing action plans to protect the endangered Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) and the region's cetacean species. A number of new initiatives were proposed for the monk seals including urgent protection and management of sites. For more information, contact the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) at Boulevard de l'Environment, BP 337-1080 Cedex Tunis, Tunisia. (Source: WDCS) (22 Nov 1998)

Canadian seal processing facilities set up and proposed - Newfoundland company Caboto Fisheries has converted a fish storage facility on the Baie Verte peninsula to a plant which will produce seal products from the Canadian harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) hunt, with emphasis being placed on seal oil which has ready markets in Asia. Meanwhile the Magdalen Islands fish company Poissons Frais Inc. is considering buying a fish oil press to recover seal oil. It is reported that the International Research and Biomedical Centre of Canada is asking for 100 tons of the seal oil for next year and that this will require the killing of 30,000 harp seals. The Magdalen Islands Sealers Association will therefore be pressing for a larger quota of harp seals for the islands in next year's spring hunt. (Sources: CFGB-FM; CBVE-FM) (22 Nov 1998)

Grey seal pup killed and dumped at rehabilitation centre - Police are hunting the person who clubbed a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pup to death then left it draped over a fence outside the Orkney Seal Rescue centre on the island of South Ronaldsay, Scotland. A post-mortem showed that the skull of the white-coated seal pup, only a week old, had been fractured in three places by a blow to its head with a heavy object. A police officer investigating the incident has described it as a sickening, vicious act. Note: In winter 1995, 25 grey seal pups and one adult grey seal were illegally shot at a bay on the same island but the culprit has not yet been found. For further information, contact Ross Flett, Orkney Seal Rescue, at SelkieSave@aol.com. (Sources: Scottish Daily Mail; Orkney Seal Rescue; Seals Network) (22 Nov 1998)

Comments sought on proposed incidental take of harbour seals - The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking comments on an application and proposed permit to allow the Washington State Department of Corrections to harass harbour seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) on Gertrude Island while repairing a dock facility on nearby McNeil Island in southern Puget Sound. Mitigation efforts include a ban on in-water activities during the seals' pupping and nursing period and a 1,000 feet no-entry buffer zone around Gertrude Island. The comment period ends on 30 November and more information can be found at http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/pr98/oct98/noaa98-r157.html. (Source: NOAA) (22 Nov 1998)

U.S. Government accused of waffling on Steller sea lion protection - Two environmental organisations, American Oceans Campaign and Greenpeace, have charged that the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is not making the necessary changes to protect the endangered Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). They accuse the NMFS of knowing that the groundfish trawl fisheries off Alaska are jeopardising the sea lions but of caving in to pressure from the fishing industry. The two organisations are seeking a greater distribution of the fishery in both time and space in addition to a reduction in total allowable catch. The Sierra Club, American Oceans Campaign and Greenpeace filed a lawsuit against the NMFS in April charging the agency with failing to protect the Steller sea lion's designated critical foraging habitats and the NMFS must submit a decision to the judge hearing this lawsuit by 16 December 1998. (Source: ENN News) (22 Nov 1998)

Group urges halt to use of organotin anti-fouling agents - The conservation organisation WWF has presented research findings on the problems caused by organotin anti-fouling agents to a meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The agents, of which the best known is tributyltin (TBT) and which are applied as a paint to the hulls of boats to stop marine creatures sticking to them, are some of the most toxic chemicals deliberately released into the marine environment. Research has shown that the agents have been found to be adversely affecting the health of and killing many types of marine species, including pinnipeds, through the marine food chain. WWF is urging that use of the agents should be banned by the year 2001. A joint programme in Germany between WWF, ship owners, paint manufacturers, government and academic bodies has been looking at alternative biocide-free paints with initial success. For more information, contact Sian Pullen, WWF-UK Marine Programme, at SPullen@wwfnet.org. (Sources: BBC; Reuters) (22 Nov 1998)

Study shows fish-farming is depleting ocean resources - Research has been produced showing that salmon and shrimp farming does not protect the world's dwindling fish supply, as once thought, but reduces it because of feeding requirements and environmental damage. In an article published in the journal Science, Rebecca Goldburg, a biologist for the Environmental Defense Fund, and a team of international researchers, showed that it takes 1.4kg of wild-caught fish to produce enough protein for 0.45kg of salmon. The article also claims that the waste and pesticides released from farms into the open ocean deplete natural fisheries by destroying nursery areas supporting wild fish and other marine species, and that the resultant depletion of marine food resources and habitat in turn affect higher-level predators such as marine mammals. (Source: Planet Ark) (22 Nov 1998)

Possible commercial fishing closure in Glacier Bay National Park - The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) is considering phasing out commercial fishing in the 600,000 acre marine waters of the Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska. At least 1.8 million kg of marine species are removed from the park's waters each year, despite NPS regulations prohibiting commercial fishing in national parks, and federal law that closes fishing in the 53,000 acre designated wilderness area of the park. Commercial fishing affects marine mammals, including the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) and the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi), in the park through diminished food supplies and disturbance. Although complete and immediate cessation of commercial fishing is being considered as an option, the park is favouring a 15-year phasing out of commercial fishing in the inner bay and the permission of established commercial fishing to continue in the outer bay, the source of 75% of the yearly catch. Comments should be made before 15 November to the park's Superintendent at GLBA_Fish_Comments@nps.gov. Further information is available from the park at http://www.nps.gov/glba/issues/fish/ or from Fran Stricker, Coordinator of Marine Mammal Programs, Animal Protection Institute at OnlineAPI@aol.com or +1-916-731-5521. (Source: Animal Protection Institute) (31 Oct 1998)

Canadian Sealers Association announces conference details - The Canadian Sealers Association (CSA) has announced that its forthcoming conference (see News Digest, 26 Sep 1998) will take place from 23-24 November 1998 in Grand Falls, Newfoundland. Tina Fagan, Executive Director of the CSA, has also revealed that the recently-formed Seal Industry Development Council plans at some future date to hold an international conference on the benefits of seal oil and Omega Three. Still in Newfoundland, it has been announced that the Northeast Sealers Co-operative Society is to receive C$215,635 in government funding to help develop a seal fur tanning facility in Springdale. C$115,635 of the funding will come from Human Resources Development Canada, the remaining C$100,000 from the Canada/Newfoundland Co-operation Agreement on Fishing Industry Development. (Sources: CBN-AM; Corner Brook Western Star) (31 Oct 1998)

Makah Tribe plans to set up seal product industry - Documents obtained by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society reveal that the Makah Tribal Council, currently in the news for attempting to hunt grey whales in the U.S. State of Washington, plans to start up a marine mammal product industry. The documents include a memo dated 27 April 1995 between National Marine Fisheries Service executives which states in part: "The Makah intend to harvest gray whales (starting in 1995), harbor seals (5 already taken), California sea lions, minke whales, small cetaceans such as harbor porpoise and Dall's porpoise, and potentially, in the future, sea otters. The Makah are planning to operate a processing plant so as to sell to markets outside the U.S. The Makah have started discussions with Japan and Norway about selling their whale products to both countries. The plant could be used to process the catches of other tribes as well. The Makah and other tribes plan to reduce local populations of harbor seals to one-half to one-third of current population ... There would be no limit placed on catches of California sea lions ...". For more information, contact Michael Kundu, Pacific Northwest Coordinator, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, at ProjectSeaWolf@seanet.com. (Source: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society) (31 Oct 1998)

Zoo's capture of orphan walrus pups generates protest - The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has made written representations to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) over reports that female walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in Alaska were intentionally killed so that their orphaned pups could be collected by the Cincinnati Zoo. The HSUS has asked both organisations to look into the issues raised by two media articles, published this year, which provide details of a 1996 hunting trip, reportedly conducted especially to acquire pups for the zoo, where female walrus with pups were deliberately targeted by native hunters, facilitated by an exchange of money between the zoo and the hunters. Arguing that the zoo appears to have violated the conditions of its collection permit by these actions, the HSUS strongly urges the FWS to take steps to prevent this situation from re-occurring. For more information, contact Naomi Rose, Marine Mammal Scientist, HSUS, at narose@ix.netcom.com. (Source: Humane Society of the United States) (31 Oct 1998)

Northwest Territories company seeks to export seal products - It has been revealed that the Canadian Qikiqtaaluk Corp., from Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, has signed a letter of intent with a Chinese company in New York outlining development strategies for exporting seal products to China. Representatives from the Qikiqtaaluk Corp. also planned to visit Newfoundland at the end of October for two days of talks with Premier Brian Tobin, Fisheries Minister John Efford and members of the sealing industry, to discuss sourcing seal oil capsules and possibly at least 150,000 seal pelts from the Newfoundland harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) hunt. Partially to satisfy this new potential order, John Efford has stated that he would like to see an open ended quota for harp seals so that Newfoundland sealers can kill as many seals as are required to meet market demands, and that he will be asking for a quota of least 350,000 to 400,000 seals in 1999, an increase on the 275,000 1998 quota. (Sources: CP; CJON-TV) (31 Oct 1998)

Arctic pinnipeds threatened by retreat of sea ice - Scientists attending the Arctic Science Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, have warned that many species of wildlife in the Arctic, including the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and other Arctic pinnipeds, may be threatened by a loss of sea ice caused by global warming. The Arctic pack ice has been retreating because of rapid warming of the western Arctic region over the past 30-40 years, and during a survey carried out in September of the Arctic pack ice edge, it was found that the ice edge was even further north than usual. Retreating ice reduces the availability of suitable walrus habitat and food supply. Brendan Kelly from the University of Alaska commented that, from the results of the survey, the walrus cow to calf ratio was much lower than he would have liked, and that a decline in the walrus population would certainly occur if the trend continued. For more information, contact George Divoky at +1-907-474-7640. (Source: ENN Daily News) (31 Oct 1998)

Oil and gas company applies for permit to disturb ringed seals - The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking comments on an application and proposed authorisation for BP Exploration to potentially disturb a small number of marine mammals, including ringed seals (Phoca hispida hispida), during operations in Alaska's Beaufort Sea. Comments must be received by 25 November 1998, and more information is available from http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/pr98/oct98/noaa98-r156.html. (Source: NOAA) (31 Oct 1998)

Concerns voiced over death of sea lion pup at Marine World - The animal welfare organisation In Defense of Animals has asked U.S. federal officials to investigate whether Vallejo's Marine World Theme Park was negligent in caring for a 3-month old sea lion pup that died in July. The pup, passed to the park by the Marine Mammal Centre in Sausalito for rehabilitation due to over-crowding at the Centre, died when the temperature in her enclosure soared to 100 degrees due to a heater being wrongly switched on and failing to shut off. The park has stated that the incident was a 'regrettable combination of equipment failure and human error' and the National Marine Fisheries Service is treating the death as an isolated incident. (Source: San Francisco Chronicle) (31 Oct 1998)

Important U.K. grey seal pupping site nominated for protection - The U.K. government has decided, after a period of consultation, that the proposed Special Area of Conservation (SAC) covering the Orkney islands of Faray and the Holm of Faray, Scotland, should be included in the eighth list of candidate SACs to be sent to the European Commission under the EC Habitats Directive. The islands are one of the main grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pupping sites in the United Kingdom. For more information, contact Ross Flett, Chairman, Orkney Seal Rescue, at SelkieSave@aol.com. (Source: Orkney Seal Rescue) (31 Oct 1998)

Protests raised over proposed missile testing in Hawaii - Organisations supporting the protection of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) are protesting over proposed missile testing on the remote Tern Island, situated in the French Frigate Shoals, part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in the northwestern Hawaiian islands. The proposal involves the testing of defensive rockets by the U.S. Navy and threatens to disturb the monk seals if the missiles are sea- or ground- launched. There are also fears that activity associated with the testing, such as dredging and construction, will affect the island's ecosystem. Note: The Hawaiian monk seal is the second most endangered seal in the world with only an estimated 1,300 of their number remaining. (Source: The Amicus Journal) (31 Oct 1998)

Alaskan groundfish report criticised - The environmental group American Oceans Campaign has criticised the fact that the Groundfish Total Allowable Catch (TAC) Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska has been given only a 45 day public comment period, with the final day for comments due on 9 November 1998. The SEIS includes the effects of fisheries on the endangered Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) population. The group has also criticised the Draft SEIS as inadequate in its scope and in its analysis of possible environmental impacts. For further information contact Michael Barnette, Marine Wildlife Program Leader, American Oceans Campaign at aocmb@wizard.net. (Source: American Oceans Campaign) (31 Oct 1998)

Japanese wildlife protection law faces being watered down - In a change of emphasis from 'protection' to 'management', the Japanese government is discussing proposals to amend the Law Concerning Wildlife Protection and Hunting to make the killing of wild animals, possibly including pinnipeds, easier. The proposed changes are mostly due to the perceived role of 'pests' in the economic difficulties currently being faced by the Japanese agriculture and fishing industries. The environmental group Circle of Life has launched a campaign to protest against the plans. For further information contact Circle of Life at mq@akina.ne.jp. (Source: Circle of Life) (31 Oct 1998)

Oil spill hits Californian waters - A large oil spill of unknown origin occurred off San Francisco and San Mateo County at the end of September, prompting an emergency cleanup effort. There was concern that the 16km-long oil slick would affect local pinniped populations, with special attention focused on the Farallon Islands. In response to the ongoing threat of such spills the Governor of California immediately signed a bill preventing large transport ships from entering Californian waters unless they have an approved oil spill contingency plan and they can demonstrate the ability to pay as much as US$300 million to cover any damages. (Source: Reuters) (31 Oct 1998)

Marine mammal regulations announced in Western Australia - In response partly to the recent rapid growth in marine mammal tourism experienced in the State of Western Australia, the State government announced on 15 September a new legally enforceable code to control the interactions of humans and marine mammals. The code includes limits on the approach distances from marine mammals of marine craft, airborne craft and swimmers, as well as the obligatory licensing of commercial marine mammal watching enterprises. Note: Australian Sea Lions (Neophoca cinerea) and New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) are found along the coasts of Western Australia. (Source: ENN News) (26 Sep 1998)

Norway allows legal seal hunting in Jørpelands River for first time - The Strand Hunting and Sport Fishing Association in the county of Rogaland, Norway, has been given a permit to kill all seals found in the Jørpelands River and in the sea outside the river. The seals, which feed on salmon in the river, have previously been killed illegally. A census of the seals in Rogaland is currently being carried out by the local Fisheries Department which reckons that with the results of the census, expected to be finished next May, more permits will be issued to kill seals in the county. Note: Two species of seal, the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) are found in the county, a 1994 county-wide census finding 175 harbour seals and 70 grey seals there. (Source: Stavanger Aftenblad, Translated by NOAH) (26 Sep 1998)

Canadian government to study seals' impact on fish stocks - Scientists with the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) are planning for the first time to incorporate the impact of seals on fish stocks in their stock assessments. In order to determine the extent of this impact the DFO is planning a three-stage process, the first stage taking the form of a meeting of marine mammal and fisheries scientists in December in order to 'refine their methods and calculations'. The second stage will 'incorporate this information into the next round of cod assessments' while the third stage will attempt to 'synthesize the knowledge of seal consumption and its impacts on prey populations'. It is planned that consultation with fishermen and other stakeholders will be part of the second and third stages. This process was revealed in a letter by the Canadian Fisheries Minister, David Anderson, to the chairperson of the Commons Fisheries Committee, accompanying the official government response to the Committee's report on east coast fishing, the detailed response to be tabled in Parliament on 2 October. Note: An international scientific workshop on harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) - fishery interactions held in 1997 could find no evidence that harp seals have had a substantial effect on the abundance and recovery of northern cod since the collapse of the fishery in 1992-93 and also concluded that a great deal of necessary data was lacking on the population dynamics of the cod, environmental effects and the feeding habits of other predators of northern cod. (Source: Edmonton Journal) (26 Sep 1998)

Motor boat sought to help protect monk seals in Turkey - The Cilician Basin Mediterranean Monk Seal Project in Turkey has made a plea for funds, on behalf of local fishermen, to help them finance a powerful boat to patrol the coasts in search of illegal fishing activity. The increase in illegal trawling off the local coasts over recent years has resulted in a decrease in local fish stocks, causing a corresponding increase in the number of Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) mortalities due to a greater level of interactions of the species with fisheries. For more information, contact Ali Cemal Gücü. (Source: MARMAM Discussion List) (26 Sep 1998)

Canadian Sealers Association plans conference - The Canadian Sealers Association (CSA) has indicated that it plans to hold a sealers' conference later this year to discuss the sealing industry, including aspects such as hunt allocations, quotas and opening dates for the hunt season. The CSA also intends to use the meeting as an opportunity to bring sealers up to date with the latest on the industry's marketing of seal products such as seal oil and protein, as well as to allow a response to proposed changes to the Marine Mammal Regulations which the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans is currently reviewing. The conference sessions will mostly be closed to the media. No dates have yet been announced but late November, early December has been suggested. Note: A reported total of 282,070 harp (Phoca groenlandica) and 10,148 hooded (Cystophora cristata) seals were killed in the 1998 Canadian east coast hunt. Animal welfare and conservation organisations produced evidence of cruelty during the hunt and also produced calculations showing that the actual number of seals killed was probably much higher. (Source: CBN-AM) (26 Sep 1998)

Unexpected results from study of U.K. grey seal pup survival - Scientists from the U.K.'s Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), studying the mortality of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pups, found that the size of the pups at weaning did not effect their survival rate in the first year of life. Contradicting expectations that fatter pups would have a better survival rate, the study also showed that about a half of all pups died within the first year. Autopsies of some of the dead seal pups showed that starvation was not the cause of death and it is thought that disease and exposure to environmental contaminants may play a far more important part in pup mortality then previously thought. For more information, contact the SMRU's Ailsa Hall. (Source: Reuters) (26 Sep 1998)

Reports published on effects of climate change on marine mammals - A paper in Science 281 (5374) 210-218 suggests that a series of recent declines in marine mammals along the west coast of the USA may have been at least partially caused by a sudden 2-degree rise in ocean water temperature in 1977. The paper suggests that biological effects linked to this increase include a 70% decline in zooplankton in parts of the eastern Pacific along with declines in the populations of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. A co-author of the study, John McGowan of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, says that there is not enough data to prove whether or not the temperature increase was human-induced.

In the meantime a paper 'Observations & Predictions of Arctic Climate Change: potential effects on marine mammals' (Arctic 50:308-322) by the U.S. National Marine Mammal Laboratory's Cynthia Tynan and Doug DeMaster suggests that decreases in Arctic sea-ice cover, as a result of human-induced climate change, may have serious impacts on the region's marine mammal populations. Effects on some of the species may include alterations in their seasonal distribution, geographic range, patterns of migration, nutritional status, reproductive success and, ultimately, abundance and stock structure. Seals such as the ringed seal (Phoca hispida), which are more dependent on ice for activities such as pupping, foraging, moulting and resting, may be at greater risk from changes in the arctic ice conditions. For more information contact Cynthia Tynan. (Source: Seaweb Newsletter) (26 Sep 1998)

Initiatives launched to protect world's oceans - A group of international scientists has produced a set of six principles governing the successful and sustainable management of the world's oceans. The so-called 'Lisbon Principles', listed in the paper 'Principles for Sustainable Governance of the Oceans' published in Science 281 (5374):198-199, resulted from discussions at a 1997 conference in Lisbon. The group also identified the top five problems facing the oceans today as overfishing, ocean disposal and spills, the destruction of coastal ecosystems, land-based contamination and climate change. For more information, contact Robert Costanza at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies.

Meanwhile the American Oceans Campaign has launched the Ocean Ambassadors pledge campaign which is designed to encourage individuals to adopt a long-term commitment to care for the ocean. The pledge campaign, sponsored by the U.S. National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has included television public service announcements. For more information on the pledge, access the Year of the Ocean website. The text of the pledge is as follows:

"Because I want to help ensure that the ocean is healthier for future generations, I pledge to:

Learn all I can about the ocean, including NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries. Conserve water.
Recycle, reduce waste and dispose of trash properly.
Be considerate of ocean wildlife. I won't feed sea birds or disturb their nesting grounds.
Clean up the beach and leave it better than I found it.
Support or join a club that promotes ocean awareness.
Pass on my knowledge and encourage my family and friends to protect the ocean.

Because I want to help the ocean and all the creatures that live in it and around its shores, I pledge today to do these things and I accept the title of Ocean Ambassador."

(Sources: Seaweb Newsletter; NOAA) (26 Sep 1998)

Canadian organisation to 'educate public' on seal products - The newly formed Seal Industry Development Council in Canada has produced a public education package and a 17 minute video in an attempt to improve the image of the sealing industry in the eyes of the public. The video, not featuring any seals, covers the life of a sealer and his family and focuses on products such as seal oil capsules. The Council has sent the education package to 14 different countries and is planning to take its campaign to countries such as the U.K., Germany and France. It also states that it is aiming to build an industry selling seal protein products to third world countries and that it intends to hold a fashion show to promote clothing and other sealskin products, the show to visit Montreal, Toronto and Calgary in November. (Source: St John's Evening Telegram) (31 August 1998)

Peruvian oil spill threatens pinnipeds - The Paracas national nature reserve, an important breeding site on Peru's southern coast for the South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) and the South American sea lion (Otaria byronia), was threatened by a 200m long oil spill close to the reserve on 12 August. The spill occurred from a pipe being used to load ships with oil and which is owned by an oil division of Peru's largest construction firm, Grana y Montero. (Source: Reuters) (31 August 1998)

Helsinki Commission creates Seal Project Group - In response to the problems of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) interactions with fisheries in the Baltic Sea, the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) has formed a Seal Project Group to discuss how to minimise these interactions. Separate projects by the governments in Sweden and Finland have recently involved the killing of grey seals to determine if this will reduce seal predation on fisheries but results indicate that such killing has very limited effect. A recent scientific study showed that the amount of hunting that the endangered Baltic grey seal population can sustain is virtually zero. The first meeting of the Seal Project Group will take place in Copenhagen on 28-29 October. (Sources: HELCOM; Seal Conservation Society) (31 August 1998)

Seals killed at Vancouver Island - 12 harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) were shot by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in the Courtenay River, Vancouver Island, at the end of July. The DFO said that the seals were killed in order to protect endangered salmon and steelhead and that other means of deterring the seals such as a fence across the river and the use of loudspeakers had not worked. Conservation groups are blaming the depletion of salmon and steelhead stocks on factors such as the degradation of fish habitat and over-fishing. (Source: Vancouver Province) (31 August 1998)

U.K. marine park proposed - A proposal has been announced to create the United Kingdom's first national marine park in an area between the islands of Mull and Skye off the West coast of Scotland. The area covered is home to a wide variety of sea life including harbour (Phoca vitulina) and grey (Halichoerus grypus) seals. The plans for the marine park will be published later this year and a final decision made next year. (Source: London Observer) (31 August 1998)

Scottish Fisheries Minister rules out seal cull - Lord Sewel, the Scottish Fisheries Minister, has stated that robust scientific evidence is required before any thought can be given to reducing the seal population in Scottish waters. Lord Sewel's comments were made as he talked to salmon netsmen and representatives from salmon fishery organisations during a tour of the east coast. Lord Sewel called on the salmon industry to work with the government on ways to halt the decline in salmon stocks, citing environmental problems as the main cause for the decline. Two species of seal, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) are found around the Scottish coasts. (Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal) (31 August 1998)

Global fishing fleet has 155% over-capacity says report - The World Wide Fund for Nature has produced a report indicating that the global fishing fleet is two and a half times larger than it should be to prevent unsustainable damage to fish stocks. This exceeds previous estimates by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showing the over-capacity to be only 30%. The report will be presented at an FAO meeting this October in Rome where governments are meeting in an attempt to negotiate an agreement to deal with the over-fishing crisis. Seventy percent of the world's most valuable fish stocks are deemed by the U.N. to be depleted or over-fished. As well as depleting stocks of individual fish species, over-fishing damages the food chain on which other marine species, such as pinnipeds, depend. (Sources: London Telegraph; Reuters) (31 August 1998)

Toxic chemicals wash up on Dutch coast - Hundreds of bags of the toxic chemical phosfine, used for killing insects and rodents aboard ships, were washed up or seen floating off the Dutch coast at the end of July and start of August. The bags were found from near Heemskerk on the central Dutch coast to near Terschelling Island, over 100km to the north, and there were fears that the bags might drift into the Wadden Sea, an ecologically sensitive area and home to an important population of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). It is thought that the bags were possibly dropped from a passing ship. (Source: Reuters) (31 August 1998)

Call made to reduce disturbance to Quebec seals - Biologist Nadia Ménard of the Parc Marin in the Saguenay River area, Quebec, has appealed to the public not to disturb the harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) which are found in the mouth of the Saguenay and the Saint Lawrence River. Recent observations have shown that a large number of water-borne activities such as kayaking and pleasure boating are causing disturbance to the seals, both intentional and accidental, forcing them to leave their haulout locations. A study is currently underway to examine the effects of disturbance on the energy balances of the seals in the area. (Source: CBJ-AM, Chicoutimi) (31 August 1998)

Namibian 1998 seal hunt quotas released - A total quota of 40,000 South African fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) has been set by the Namibian government for this year's seal hunt. The quota, consisting of 15,000 pups and 3,000 bulls at Cape Cross and 20,000 pups and 2,000 bulls at Luderitz, is an increase of 10,000 on 1997 when the total quota was set at 26,000 pups and 4,000 bulls. The Wildlife Society of Namibia has expressed concern at the large increase in the quota and as to whether the bull population has had a chance to recover from the natural disaster in 1994 which resulted in the deaths of a large number of fur seals. Arguing that the process of setting quotas needs to be more transparent and also that there is no scientific proof that fewer seals would actually result in more fish being made available to the fishing industry, the Society is calling for the Namibian government to make public all relevant fur seal scientific data, research and aerial survey results. (Source: Wildlife Society of Namibia) (5 August 1998)

Small jet boat ban upheld in U.S. San Juan Islands - In a move which will help reduce disturbance to local pinniped populations the highest court in the U.S. State of Washington has upheld the local county's right to ban virtually all use of small jet boats in and around the San Juan Islands. In originally approving the ban in 1996, county officials had cited the loss of tranquillity caused by the small powerboats as well as their impact on sensitive marine mammals and birds that live and breed in the area. Recent scientific research demonstrated for example that harassments of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina richardsi) on the islands during the pupping season were common and primarily caused by powerboaters approaching to observe the seals. (Source: Reuters) (5 August 1998)

California sea lion mortalities due to toxins - U.S. officials have announced that the seizures and deaths in late May of at least 62 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in Monterey Bay, California, were caused by domoic acid toxin from a harmful algal bloom which was concentrated in anchovies and sardines eaten by the sea lions. (Sources: NOAA Press Release; Reuters) (5 August 1998)

Harbour seals in Orkney Islands may be afforded protection - A survey of harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) colonies is to be carried out in the Scottish Orkney Islands, concentrating on the area around the island of Sanday. The survey, to be undertaken by the Sea Mammal Research Unit and Scottish Natural Heritage, will help determine whether the site merits recognition as a Special Area of Conservation under the EC Habitats Directive. A total of 30% of the harbour seals in the UK are found in Orkney. (Source: Orkney Seal Rescue) (5 August 1998)

Toxic chemicals found in Dutch marine mammals - Dutch scientists have found traces of the flame retardant chemicals polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sperm whales and other marine animals stranded along the Dutch coast. The scientists have called for the use of these chemicals, increasingly used in a wide range of products including cars, computers, textiles and televisions, to be banned. PBBs and PBDEs are similar in behaviour to chemicals such as PCBs and DDT and are known to affect the reproductive system and the regulation of thyroid and steroid hormones. (Source: Reuters) (5 August 1998)

Various steps taken to protect the marine environment - At a meeting in Portugal of the Environment Ministers of the Oslo and Paris Convention (OSPAR - the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic), several measures were agreed which should benefit marine animals, including seals, in the region. Annex V, covering the Protection of Biodiversity and establishment of Marine Protected Areas, was unanimously adopted, committing the Convention to promote a network of protected areas in the region. Although welcoming the move, conservationists have pointed out that the effectiveness of the Annex will be limited by its specific exclusion of the effects of fisheries-related activities (under the remit of the European Union) and shipping (under the remit of the International Maritime Organisation).

The Convention also agreed on a ban on the sea dumping of large steel installations, the reduction of nuclear power station radioactive discharges to near zero, an end to the deliberate dumping of all radioactive waste at sea, the reduction of concentrations of persistent, hazardous chemicals in seawater close to zero levels by the year 2020 and the avoidance of new hazardous substances.

Meanwhile the UK is to host an international Oceans Workshop in London later this year to draw up plans to protect the world's seas from pollution and exploitation, forming part of the preparatory work for a review of ocean issues to be undertaken by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in New York in April 1999. Good news for the marine environment has also emerged in the form of an anti-fouling paint called 'Slippy Bottom' which has been developed by H. Marcel Guest. The paint mimics the skin of a living creature by catalytically developing a micro film of a highly slippy substance where it comes into contact with water, thereby shedding growth as soon as the vessel moves through the water. It is hoped that use of the new paint will reduce the problem of high toxicity of current anti-fouling agents which have been linked to illness in various marine creatures, including marine mammals. (Sources: Newsnet-21; WWF-UK; Oceanspace; Habitat) (5 August 1998)

European Union bans high sea drift nets - The European Union (EU) has agreed to phase out high sea drift nets by 31 December 2001 in order to prevent the deaths of thousands of marine animals such as seals, cetaceans, whales, sharks, turtles and diving birds from entanglement and drowning in the nets. The agreement which covers boats registered in EU countries received support from all countries except France and Ireland who voted against the ban and Italy who abstained, all three countries arguing that the ban would threaten the livelihoods of fishermen. The ban excludes salmon catching in the Baltic Sea and drift net operations in inshore waters. The EU had previously imposed a maximum drift net length of 2.5km in response to a the U.N. 1992 general moratorium on drift nets. (Sources: AP; Aberdeen Press and Journal) (30 June 1998)

Atka mackerel fishery restrictions to benefit Steller sea lions - The North Pacific Fishery Management Council imposed restrictions on 14 June on the commercial fishing of Atka mackerel in response to fears that the fishery for that species is negatively impacting the endangered Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). The restrictions will move 60% of the commercial Atka mackerel fishery taking place inside critical Steller sea lion habitat to areas outside such habitat over the next four years. This decision comes shortly after environmental groups sued the U.S. government seeking a ban on all trawling for Atka mackerel inside these critical areas. (Source: Associated Press) (30 June 1998)

New organisation set up in Newfoundland to promote seal products - The Seal Industry Development Council has been launched in the Canadian province of Newfoundland in order to develop local, national and international markets for products from the province's sealing industry. The first chairperson of the Council is Tina Fagan, Executive Director of the Canadian Sealers' Association. The Council is being given C$195,000 through the Canada / Newfoundland Industry Development Agreement for the next two years, seal product companies also providing part of the operating costs. Products which will be focused on include seal oil, protein, leather, fur and meat, the Council aiming to overcome trade, cultural and consumer reluctance impediments to the use of these products. The Council wants to try and crack markets such as the U.S. where seal products are banned and also plans to launch a road show this autumn to tour the U.K. in an effort to persuade the public to use seal oil and seal oil-based health supplements and to persuade U.K. margarine and ice cream manufacturers to use seal oil instead of vegetable oil in their products.

Meanwhile there was a demonstration on 8 June outside the annual conference of New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers in Fredericton by protesters calling for an end to Canada's annual east coast seal hunt. The protest was organised by the group Canadians Against the Commercial Seal Hunt who highlighted the fact that the 1998 hunt saw the largest slaughter of seals in Canadian waters in the last 30 years and urged that the Newfoundland government start creating alternative and sustainable long-term job opportunities for people in the province to replace the sealing industry. (Sources: St John's Evening Telegram, Saint John Telegraph Journal, London Express on Sunday, CATCSH, VOCM-AM News; CBN-AM News; CFCB-AM News) (30 June 1998)

Alaska's governor calls for better enforcement of drift net ban - The governor of Alaska, Tony Knowles, has written to the U.S. federal government asking for additional funds to tighten enforcement of the drift net ban in the North Pacific and Bering Sea after recent illegal drift net fishing has been uncovered there. The use of drift nets in international waters is banned by a U.N. treaty but at least six drift net vessels, mostly from China, have recently been spotted and tracked in the region, one of the Chinese boats using a net nine miles long. The governor also wants better communications with the Russian enforcement agencies and is looking for China and South Korea to sign the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Fish in the North Pacific, a treaty already signed by the U.S., Russia, Canada and Japan which bans the catching of salmon and trout in North Pacific international waters. Several pinniped species feed in the North Pacific and Bering Sea and are therefore at risk from entanglement in drift nets. These include the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) and Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) which are listed respectively on the IUCN Red List as Endangered and Vulnerable. (Source: Reuters) (30 June 1998)

Arctic seals found wandering in the North Sea - There have been two recent cases of seals which are normally found in Arctic or subarctic waters being found stranded in more southerly European waters. The Mablethorpe Animal Gardens and Seal Trust in England is currently rehabilitating a young bearded seal pup (Erignathus barbatus) which stranded recently with eye problems and poor vision, conditions which could have contributed to its confused wandering. The SRRC Pieterburen in the Netherlands has also reported a hooded seal pup (Cystophora cristata), probably aged less than one week old, found in the Wadden Sea and possibly born nearby. Last year an adult female hooded seal stranded in Portugal and gave birth to a pup but unfortunately both animals died. (Sources: Mablethorpe Animal Gardens and Seal Trust; SRRC Pieterburen) (30 June 1998)

Two Orkney islands designated as protected areas for grey seals - Scottish Natural Heritage has announced that it has approved designation of the islands of Faray and Holms of Faray in the Scottish Orkney Islands as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The islands are important sites for grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), holding around 10% of the U.K. grey seal breeding population during the breeding season. Progress is also being made towards the designation of the islands as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the EC Habitats Directive. (Source: Orkney Seal Rescue) (30 June 1998)

Aquarium and U.S. authorities in dispute over release of sea lion - The Morro Bay Aquarium in California is currently refusing to release a sea lion pup which it has rehabilitated and which subsequently keeps returning to the Aquarium when released. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has ordered that the pup be transferred by the Aquarium to the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center from where it can be released back into the wild in the Channel Islands. The Aquarium claims that the sea lion will not survive if released due to lack of food and has obtained a restraining order forcing the NMFS to stay away from the sea lion. (Source: Seattle Times) (30 June 1998)

Groups urge President Clinton to protect oceans - More than 120 U.S. environmental groups have urged President Clinton in a letter sent prior to the National Ocean Conference in Monterey to increase efforts to protect ocean waters and wildlife from overfishing, coastal development and pollution. Among other requests the letter called on the administration to ratify and implement various international agreements such as the UN 'Law of the Sea', to restore and promote sustainable marine fisheries, and to secure funding for laws aiming to protect endangered marine species such as the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). Meanwhile a new report released separately by the Center for Marine Conservation has indicated that nearly a third of U.S. commercial fisheries are currently over-fished and almost a half are being fished to their limit. For more information on both the letter and report contact the Center for Marine Conservation. (Source: IPS) (30 June 1998)

Commercial salmon fisheries closed but seals still blamed - The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO) has announced at a meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, that there has been international agreement to close the Greenland salmon fishery for one year in an attempt to afford more protection to migrating salmon from both the West and East Atlantic. There will still be a 20 tonne catch, out of the original 63 tonnes, for local Greenlandic food purposes. The Canadian government has also announced a one-year closure of the Labrador commercial salmon fishery. In the meantime salmon fishing interests in the U.K. have blamed the spread of sea lice from salmon farms as the most important cause of devastating reductions in local wild salmon numbers and organisations have also criticised the continuation of the English salmon drift net fisheries, excluded from the recent EC ban on drift net fishing. Even though industrial fishing, aquaculture, fisheries bycatch and other problems such as pollution and loss of habitat have been pinpointed as being instrumental in the drop in salmon numbers, representatives of the Atlantic Salmon Trust and the Salmon Net Fishing Association of Scotland have blamed seals for the decline and have called for action to reduce seal predation on salmon stocks. (Sources: Aberdeen Press and Journal; Ottawa Citizen) (30 June 1998)

New monk seal web site launched - The International Marine Mammal Association (IMMA) has launched a new web site at http://www.monachus.org devoted to monk seal conservation issues. Including a biannual newsletter, 'The Monachus Guardian', the site will offer news and information on the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) and the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi), the two most endangered pinniped species, and the now extinct Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis). For more information contact William M. Johnson at editor@monachus.org. (Source: IMMA) (9 June 1998)

Canadian 1998 seal kill figures released - The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has announced that hunters killed 282,070 harp (Phoca groenlandica) and 10,148 hooded (Cystophora cristata) seals in the 1998 east coast hunt. These figures exceeded the quotas of 275,000 and 10,000 respectively and represent the highest number of seals killed in the hunt over the last 30 years. The actual kill is believed to be much higher, a recent report indicating that an extra 38-89 percent should be added to the official figures in order to obtain the true figures. There are fears that the populations will be badly affected by the scale of the kill and Rick Smith, Canadian Director of IFAW, commented that 'The last time killing approached this level, harp and hooded seal populations were driven down to such low numbers that they have only just recently recovered.'

Meanwhile the Newfoundland Fisheries Minister John Efford, who wants to cull four million harp seals, has been warned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society not to break the law after he was quoted on Canadian television as saying 'I've got something in mind, I've had discussions with very influential people, but showing your hand would be stupid'. John Efford was earlier quoted as saying 'I would like to see the six million seals, or whatever number is out there, killed and sold, or destroyed or burned ... I do not care what happens to them'. One concern voiced by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is that an attempt may be made to kill the seals in international waters, outside Canadian legal jurisdiction.

John Efford's calls for a mass cull come shortly after it was revealed that 30 foreign factory ships have been drag trawling major cod spawning and nursery grounds on the Newfoundland Grand Banks. At a mid-May meeting of provincial fisheries ministers the Federal Fisheries Minister David Anderson stated that he will wait for the results of a count later this year before deciding whether or not to authorise a cull. In the meantime federal funding of more than C$800,000 has been given to the seal processing plant in Catalina in Newfoundland, owned by Atlantic Marine Products Inc. of St. Johns. The company plan to build an integrated facility to process and tan up to 150,000 seal skins per year as well as produce seal oil and other products. (Sources: IFAW; Sea Shepherd; St John's Evening Telegram; VOCM-AM News) (9 June 1998)

Oil discoveries in Falkland Islands may affect wildlife - The discovery of oil after only two weeks of exploratory drilling in the waters off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic has led experts to suggest that there could be vast reserves of oil to be exploited in the region. Although any future oil extraction will make the islanders very wealthy, some have already expressed worry about the possible detrimental effects of shore installations on the Falklands wildlife. Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) and South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) all breed on the islands while other seal species also visit the islands. (Source: Oceanspace) (9 June 1998)

Unknown illness kills sea lions in California - Around 60 sea lions, mostly pregnant females, have been found stranded recently in the Californian counties of Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo exhibiting symptoms such as grand mal seizures, loss of coordination, vomiting and diarrhoea. The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito is currently investigating the cause of the illness which has killed about half of the stranded animals. (Source: AP) (9 June 1998)

Fears for future of pinnipeds in Peru - The effects of the now-fading El Niño, the strongest this century, on the marine mammal and seabird populations of Peru have led Dr. Patricia Majluf at the Punta San Juan Reserve to comment that the depleted wildlife populations 'may not survive many more events of this magnitude'. Noting that some experts predict even stronger and more frequent El Niños in the future Dr. Majluf added that 'this would be fatal for the fur seals, sea lions and penguins'. A season of pup production by colonies of South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) has been wiped out by the El Niño and most of the juvenile animals and a large part of the breeding adult population have also apparently died. The ecologist Dr. David Duffy at the University of Hawaii also commented that commercial overfishing of anchovy, an important prey item for both species and one on which the Peruvian marine ecosystem depends, will make the recovery process from this 'staggering event' much harder. (Source: New York Times) (9 June 1998)

'North Pole' seal found off Vietnam - An unknown species of 'North Pole' seal has been reported by the Vietnamese 'Labour' newspaper as having been captured by a fisherman about 80 miles off Vietnam's central Quang Ngai province. The seal, weighing 15kg, was sent to an oceanology institute. (Source: AP) (9 June 1998)

Effects of recreation on U.K. seals to be studied - A study of coastal recreational management, including the effects of water and land based recreation on wildlife such as dolphins and seals as well as fragile habitat features around the U.K. coast, is to be carried out by the U.K. Centre for Economic and Environmental Development (UK CEED) and the Centre for Coastal Conservation and Education at Bournemouth University. The aim will be to develop good practice guidelines to ensure the long term protection of sensitive marine species and features. For more information on the study ('mSAC Work Programme: Task 2.1') contact Catherine Saunders (Tel: +44-1223-367799, Fax: +44-1223-367794). (Source: Habitat) (9 June 1998)

Fish being trained to swim into nets - In a development which could impact fisheries and marine mammals which interact with fisheries, scientists based at Stirling University in Scotland and commissioned by the European Parliament are developing a method of behaviourally conditioning fish to gather around nets. The scientists believe that they can train some species of fish such as sole, plaice and flounders, to be 'homing fish' and gather around buoys which emit low-frequency pulses of sound and provide food for the fish. The system is also thought to have potential use in the breeding of fish in open sea farms around artificial reefs, a completely new form of aquaculture. (Sources: London Daily Mail; Aberdeen Press and Journal) (9 June 1998)

Report on New Zealand sea lion mortality released - Massey University Cetacean Investigation Centre (MUCIC) and the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) have released a preliminary scientific report on the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) mortality which took place earlier this year. No cause for the mortality has yet been determined despite extensive testing and an expedition to the subantarctic islands has been proposed for this winter in order to carry out further sampling of the population. A scientific workshop on the mortality will also be held in Wellington in June. Further details on the mortality can be obtained from Dr. Alan Baker, DOC Science and Research Unit (Tel: +64-4-471-3299, E-mail: ABaker@doc.govt.nz (Source: NZ Department of Conservation) (19 May 1998)

Tasmanian fishermen complain about seals - There have been calls in Tasmania for a cull of seals which fishermen and fish farmers say have reached 'plague proportions', particularly after the arrival of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) on the east coast. The Tasmanian government has acknowledged that seals are a nuisance but its experts doubt that the seal population has exploded to the extent claimed by the fishermen and the government is refusing to support a cull. Officers from the Parks and Wildlife Service have been catching seals at fish farms in the Dover area and transporting them 250km away to the mouth of the Tamar river. (Source: AAP) (19 May 1998)

Canadian businesses accused of seal meat price fixing - Six prominent Canadian law professors have accused east coast seal meat processors of price fixing, which they describe as 'a blatant breach of the Competition Act', and have asked the federal Competition Bureau to investigate. The accusation is based on minutes of a meeting on government seal meat subsidies held in 1996 when the processors agreed not to undercut each other's seal meat price levels. Federal and Newfoundland officials were also present at the meeting and are accused of not acting against the agreement. Price fixing is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to C$10 million, or both.

Meanwhile there have been further demonstrations against the seal hunt in Canada, organised by the group Canadians Against the Commercial Seal Hunt (CATCSH), including a protest outside a Liberal party fund-raising event for Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin in Toronto. Tax forms were also burned outside a Revenue Canada building by individuals who protested at the use of their tax dollars to subsidise the seal hunt.

In a new publicity angle the Newfoundland Fisheries Minister John Efford has proposed that there be a massive cull of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in order to bring down the population from a claimed figure of more than six million to one of 2-2.5 million and that the meat be turned into capsules and sent to feed the world's starving people, particularly the children. Calls for a mass cull have also been supported by the senior adviser to the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who was quoted as saying "We can go on with arguing about seals all we want, but until someone acts, and acts quickly, the problem won't be solved. We have to deal with the seals.". The Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC), an advisory body to the government, did not however recommend a seal cull in its latest annual report and its chairman is quoted as saying that "...there needs to be solid scientific evidence to support a cull ... we don't know the impact that seals are having on food species such as capelin and herring." (Sources: Ottawa Citizen; Saskatoon Star-Phoenix; Windsor Star; St John's Evening Telegram) (19 May 1998)

Multilingual version of monk seal conservation guidelines published - The International Marine Mammal Association (IMMA) has published a new edition of the Mediterranean Monk Seal Conservation Guidelines in which the guidelines are also published in French, Greek, Spanish and Turkish. The guidelines, of which the edition also includes a list of endorsements, are a synthesis of resolutions and action plans proposed from 1978 to 1994 for the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), the rarest and most endangered pinniped species. IMMA can be contacted at 1474 Gordon Street, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 1C8 (Tel: +1-519-767-1948; Fax: +1-519-767-0284). (19 May 1998)

Mar del Plata Aquarium under fire - The Argentinean organisation Fundación Fauna Argentina has accused the Mar del Plata Aquarium of capturing dolphins, Southern sea lions (Otaria byronia), Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) and a leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) ostensibly for rehabilitation purposes but not subsequently releasing them. The group has also highlighted the fact that six out of ten of the Aquarium's dolphins have died since the Aquarium opened in 1993, two of them during the last two months. For more information contact: Julio Lorenzani, Fundación Fauna Argentina, Av. Colon 4396, Mar del Plata, Argentina (Tel & Fax: +54-23-72-9389). (19 May 1998)

Unexplained seal deaths in New Jersey - The Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, New Jersey, reported that a mystery illness has contributed to a mortality rate of one third of the 31 seals brought to the Center by the end of March, more than double the usual rate. The illness, which has affected all four local species - grey (Halichoerus grypus), harbour (Phoca vitulina) , harp (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded (Cystophora cristata) seals in particular, starts with coughing and nasal discharges and leads to a loss of appetite with death occurring through respiratory failure. Veterinary labs are analysing tissue samples in the hope that a cause for the mortality can be determined. (Source: Reuters) (29 April 1998)

Great Australian Bight Marine Park announced - On April 21 the Australian Environment Minister Robert Hill announced the official proclamation of the commonwealth Great Australian Bight Marine Park on the South Australian coast. Around 382,500 hectares of the Park along the coastline are reserved for the protection of mammals, including the Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea). A detailed management plan for the area is still to be drawn up. (Source: AAP) (29 April 1998)

Footage of Canadian hunt cruelty handed to government - On April 16 the animal welfare group International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) handed video evidence of cruelty in this year's Gulf of St. Lawrence harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) hunt to the Canadian Ministry of Justice and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The film, taken by IFAW from a high-powered camera attached to a helicopter monitoring the hunt, is said to expose more than 140 cruelty violations including seals being skinned, cut open and dragged with hooks while still alive. Other seals on the video were clubbed with wooden sticks or boat hooks and left to suffer injured for long periods before being killed. The film also shows a federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) coastguard boat acting as an icebreaker for the sealers and crushing seals as it breaks through the ice. The DFO said that it could take several months for officials to determine if charges would be filed.

Meanwhile there has been disagreement over the causes of death of the hundreds of harp seals that have been washed up along the north shore of Prince Edward Island since the hunt began, with arguments that a large number of the seals were killed by the hunt as evidenced by the seals' unnatural wounds and mutilated genitals (seal genitals are the most lucrative part of the seal, supplying the Asian aphrodisiac market). Contrary opinions have been expressed that the wounds may have been caused by shark attacks and that drowning was the main cause of death.

On March 31 a letter was sent to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Brian Tobin, by a group of ten U.S. senators asking him to consider ending the commercial seal hunt. The senators acknowledged the current economic difficulties facing Atlantic fishing communities but stated that 'subsidizing cruel practices with potentially serious environmental consequences is unlikely to achieve the long-term economic development we all desire.' (Sources: Associated Press; Canadian Press; U.S. Newswire; Toronto Star; IFAW) (29 April 1998)

Environmental groups file lawsuit to protect Steller sea lions - The Sierra Club, Greenpeace and the America Oceans Campaign filed a lawsuit on April 15 in the federal court against the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The groups charge that the NMFS has mismanaged the north Pacific Ocean fisheries, allowing intensive fishing to deplete groundfish populations in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska and thereby causing a 'precipitous decline' in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and other species. The lawsuit further charges that the NMFS is failing to protect the Steller sea lion, the western population of which was designated as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in June 1997. (Sources: ENN; Marmamnews) (29 April 1998)

Note that the Alaska Sea Grant College Program has just released a 27-minute video entitled 'Steller sea lions: in jeopardy' which is available in VHS format - telephone: +1-907-474-6707, e-mail: fypubs@uaf.edu.

Southern elephant seals are found to be champion divers - A research team from the University of Tasmania led by scientist Mark Hindell has discovered during a three year project that Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) on Australia's sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island can dive more than a kilometre deep and stay underwater for two hours. The study using satellite transmitters indicates a powerful ability by the seals to control their metabolisms during diving with a heart rate of 100-110 beats per minute at the surface becoming as low as 10 during a dive. (Source: AAP) (29 April 1998)

Shetland seals lose additional protection - The Scottish Office announced that the extra protection given to common (harbour) seals (Phoca vitulina) in Shetland, Scotland, under the Seals (Common Seals) (Shetland Islands Area) Order 1991 has been lifted. The seals have had extra protection over and above that afforded by the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 ever since 1973 when hunting had drastically reduced their numbers but the Scottish Office stated that their numbers have now recovered sufficiently. The lifting of the Order means that any member of the public with a relevant extension to their firearms license can shoot a common seal for any reason outside the breeding season. Animal welfare organisations have noted that a large number of common and grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are still being killed under the 'Fisheries Defence Clause' of the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 which allows fishermen and fish farmers to shoot any seal which is in the vicinity of their activity and which poses a potential threat to their gear or catch. This clause does not require special licensing or the reporting of any seals shot and is applicable all year round. The Act does not allow the Secretary of State to override this clause, even by Orders such as the one made for Shetland. (Sources: Scottish Office; Press and Journal; Seal Conservation Society) (29 April 1998)

Marine biotoxins may have killed New Zealand sea lions - Massey University marine mammal pathologist Pádraig Duignan, a member of the team investigating the recent New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) mortality, has said that he suspects that a marine biotoxin may be responsible. Four different laboratories world-wide have failed to identify any known virus and Dr. Duignan suggested that a process of elimination would indicate that a localised 'red tide' on the Auckland Islands shelf may be to blame.

Meanwhile marine mammal biologist Nick Gales is hoping to make use of 'critter-cams', underwater video cameras that can be glued to seals, to show the interactions of New Zealand sea lions with trawl nets in order to find ways to reduce the problem of entanglement. Last year several video cameras were fitted to female sea lions, the cameras fitted with lights that illuminated an area two to three metres in front of the sea lions and which did not appear to disturb either the sea lions or their prey. (Sources: Marmamnews; NZPA) (29 April 1998)

Nova Scotia fishermen in favour of grey seal harvest - Two fishermen's groups on the Northumberland shore of Nova Scotia, the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen's Organisation and the Northumberland Fishermen's Association, have proposed a major harvest of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) which they claim are eating too many fish and threatening the recovery of groundfish stocks such as cod and hake. The hunting of grey seals has not been allowed in the Northumberland Strait since the mid-1980s. (Source: New Glasgow Bureau) (29 April 1998)

Report on seal watching produced - The animal welfare group International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) held a meeting on April 21 of wildlife tour operators, scientists and animal welfare organisations at Loch Lomond, Scotland, in order to present and discuss a report entitled 'Seal Watching in the UK and Republic of Ireland' written by Kirsten Young. The report included a survey of seal watching businesses in the British Isles and estimated that the industry generates more than £36 million per annum. Participants at the meeting discussed seal watching worldwide and looked at ways, including codes of practice, in which seal watching activities can be carried out with the minimum of disturbance to seals. (Source: IFAW) (29 April 1998)

Sea lions in Peru and elephant seals in California decimated by El Niño - The scientist Patricia Majluf, a biologist with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, has reported from Peru that of the pre-El Niño population of 180,000 South American sea lions (Otaria byronia), only 30,000 remain. Some of the sea lions have left in search of fish in colder waters so no firm estimate of mortality is yet available. In the San Juan reserve, home normally to 9-15,000 sea lions, 3,000 dead sea lions have been found and all the sea lion pups born on the reserve this year have died. A large proportion of dead sea lions have been adult females indicating that the recovery rate of the population will be much slower than for previous El Niños.

Meanwhile at the Point Reyes National Seashore in California the seal ecologist Sarah Allen has reported that the estimated local mortality of Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) pups has been around 80-90% due to severe winter storms, elevated sea levels, heavy rains and very high tides. The main seal colony was washed out yielding only around 20 pups compared to figures of over 300 for previous years. Two newer, adjacent sub-colonies which were more protected from storm swell and high tides showed moderate increases in pup numbers. There was no apparent mortality of adults during the winter although shark attacks were observed. (Sources: AP; Sarah Allen) (29 April 1998)

New Zealand squid fishery closes early - The New Zealand Squid Fishery Management Co. Ltd. issued a call on 23 March 1998 advising all participants in the squid fishery in area 6 (near the Auckland and Campbell Islands) to stop fishing immediately. The call was issued when the Company realised that, by the best estimate available, the fishery's bycatch of New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) had reached 63, the recently-reduced maximum level permitted by the government. The decision was applauded by conservation groups who had wanted the fishery closed down in order to safeguard the sea lion population after the recent mass mortality. Last year there was an over-run of the maximum allowable limit due to action not being taken quickly enough and to the amount of time required to legally close the fishery. (Sources: Squid Fishery Management Co. Ltd.; WWF New Zealand) (8 April 1998)

Canadian government changes rules to allow hunt - The Canadian harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) hunt got under way in the Gulf of St. Lawrence after it had appeared as if weather and ice conditions would offer the seals some protection. Due to the conditions the main congregations of harp seals were located on ice floes off the north shore of Prince Edward Island in an area in which the killing of harp seals was prohibited all year round by the Canadian Marine Mammal Regulations. When the ice showed no signs of moving north into an unprotected area the sealers petitioned the Government who replied by lifting the protected status of the area, a decision causing international condemnation.

Meanwhile it was revealed that before the hunt for 275,000 harp seals began, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had announced that its 1998 harp seal survey would be postponed until next year based on the scientific advice that the unusual ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence would produce inconsistent data. The latest ice maps indicated, the Department stated, that the ice extent this year was less than normal and much thinner then average and in the traditional areas where harp seals pup the ice was too loose and thin to hold whelping seals.

A recent rally in Ottawa against the hunt attracted 2,500 people. Sealers from Newfoundland, the Magdalen Islands and Cape Breton are taking part in the hunt which has already taken its quota of 10,000 hooded seals (Cystophora cristata). (Sources: The Prince Edward Island Guardian; Department of Fisheries and Oceans) (8 April 1998)

Concerns for Australian sea lion - The principal research scientist in the Australian CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology, Dr. Peter Shaughnessy, has called for more intensive research into the Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) after evidence pointed to a levelling and possible decline in the population. A joint study between CSIRO and National Parks and Wildlife South Australia has shown dramatic and unexplained fluctuations in the species' pup mortality, ranging as high as 50% in one case. The Australian sea lion is found only in that country with breeding colonies in South Australia and Western Australia. (Source: M2 Communications) (8 April 1998)

Cincinnati Zoo faces criticism over walrus 'rescues' - The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has called the 'rescuing' of walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) calves for life in captivity "an old scam" as Cincinnati Zoo denied paying $25,000 to a boat captain to seek out and kill female walruses, rather than males, to obtain three calves brought recently to the zoo. Cincinnati Zoo claims that the $25,000 was not paid to take pups but to pay for temporary housing for the pups off St. Lawrence Island and for "around-the clock guards because they (the local population) would eat the pups". (Source: UPI) (8 April 1998)

Canadian Fisheries Committee proposes relaxation of hunt restrictions - The all-party Canadian Commons Fisheries Committee has recommended, in a report on fisheries management in the Atlantic provinces, that the federal government loosen restrictions on seal hunting by allowing fishermen off Quebec and Labrador to catch seals in their nets and to sell hooded seal pelts that they've harvested. The report claims that expanding seal herds threaten the recovery of troubled cod and capelin stocks and that "seals represent an important primary resource and economic opportunity for many communities on Canada's Atlantic coast". The animal welfare group IFAW has pointed out that these claims are not supported by scientific and economic evidence. Regarding the 1992-93 collapse of the Northern cod stocks on Canada's east coast, the report places the blame on mismanagement of fishing quotas by senior officials in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and recommends the removal of these officials. (Sources: CP; Toronto Star; IFAW) (8 April 1998)

Drilling in Sea of Okhotsk threatens marine mammal populations - The waters off the Russian Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk are about to be opened up to massive oil and gas development, according to a report from Friends of the Earth Japan, with over £17 billion invested so far. The area is not only a summer feeding area for the endangered grey whale species but is an important breeding or feeding area for many pinnipeds, including Northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), ringed seals (Phoca hispida), ribbon seals (Phoca fasciata) and spotted seals (Phoca largha). Tyulenii Island which is near to the prospective area and would be passed by tanker traffic travelling to and from there is home to one of the world's largest seal colonies. Local inhabitants fear a major spill due to the extreme ice, sea and wind conditions in the area and the fact that the island is in a major earthquake zone. (Main source: BBC Wildlife Magazine) (8 April 1998)

Sea Shepherd vessel plans to view Canadian seal hunt - The vessel Sea Shepherd III, operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and carrying concerned international celebrities and film crews, has sailed to the Canadian east coast in order to document and publicise this year's harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) hunt. The harp seal quota for this year is 275,000, the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) quota is 10,000. The much-criticised Canadian Marine Mammal Regulations forbid unauthorised approach within half a nautical mile of the seal hunt on the grounds that this might disrupt the hunt. Two coast guard ships and up to five helicopter units are following the vessel. Meanwhile demonstrations have been held against the killing by groups including Canadians Against the Commercial Seal Hunt.

The weather conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year have resulted in a reduced volume of sea ice, giving rise to concerns that this will mean a large increase in natural seal pup mortality, the ice providing the required habitat for harp seal pupping.

(Sources: Tera Camus, Cape Breton Bureau; Sea Shepherd Conservation Society; Associated Press) (19 March 1998)

Bycatch limit to be reduced around Auckland Islands - The New Zealand government has announced that it will reduce the New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) bycatch limit for the Auckland Islands squid fishery from 79 to 63. The fishing industry has argued that the limit should not be lowered since the bycatch is insignificant compared to the recent mass mortality while conservationists argue that the fishery should be closed because of the effects of the mortality on the sea lion population.

The cause of the recent mortality is still unknown but the latest figures show that at least 53%, over 1600, of this year's pups and an estimated minimum 20% of the adult population have died as a result. The total loss of adult female sea lions cannot be estimated with confidence until the next breeding season in December, and possibly not for three years. Tests for seal herpes viruses have proved negative. (Sources: NZ News; New Zealand Department of Conservation) (19 March 1998)

See the New Zealand sea lion mortality page for links to news posted on the internet since the outbreak of the mortality.

Russian harp seal hunt takes place - The annual 10-day harp seal pup (Phoca groenlandica) hunt on the White Sea ice-fields off Murmansk and Archangelsk has taken place. The main product of the hunt is the seals' white fur pelts which are then dyed black for sale as fur hats. Critics, who say that the killing methods used are cruel, want the Russian government to develop eco-tourism of the ice-fields as a humane alternative. H