1997 News Digest
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28 November 1997
23 October 1997
6 October 1997
16 September 1997
19 August 1997
30 July 1997
7 July 1997
El Niņo affects seals in California - The Marine Mammal Center, a rehabilitation centre in San Francisco, blamed the lack of food caused by El Niņo (see 'El Niņo Warning' earlier) for an unusually high number of dying Northern fur seal pups being stranded on Californian beaches. In September about 1,500 Northern fur seal pups died on the San Miguel Island rookery. Wildlife biologists predict that thousands of sea lions, harbour seals and northern elephant seals will also die off through lack of food. (28 November 1997)
New seal colonies in Angola - In what could be an event caused by El Niņo, there has been a shift in pelagic fish distribution in Namibia, the fish moving northwards into southern Angola. South African fur seals were the first to respond and have formed new colonies in Angola, leading to potential interactions between the seals and the crocodiles inhabiting some of the rivers there. (28 November 1997)
Great Australian Bight Marine Park announced - The Australian federal government has announced that it intends to create a marine park in the Commonwealth waters of the Great Australian Bight. Supplementing the marine park set up by the South Australian government in 1996 the area will protect Australian sea lions and other marine life. A 3 month public consultation phase will initially be undertaken. (28 November 1997)
U.S. Interior Department rejects Arctic anti-drilling petition - The U.S. Interior Department has decided to reject the petition by environmental groups which opposed drilling activities off Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (see 'Environmental groups...' earlier). (28 November 1997)
Seal oil craze takes off in Canada - A new health fad, the consumption of seal oil capsules, is sweeping Newfoundland. Because the capsules are not classified as a drug no specific claims can be made of their benefit, but in addition they are not subject to federal regulations. Pharmacists do not know what side effects the capsules may have. Local companies plan to carry out active marketing of the capsules in Asia and to Asian-Canadian communities outwith Newfoundland. (28 November 1997)
Killing of seals ends on Vancouver Island - The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans stopped the killing of seals earlier this month in the Puntledge River system, Vancouver Island, on scientific recommendation. A total of 25 seals were reported killed during the operation which was intended to protect salmon stocks. Questions are being raised as to the humaneness of the seal killing and its effectiveness in protecting salmon numbers - local groups argue that alternative and more effective non-lethal methods should be utilised. (23 October 1997)
Single organisation to manage Bering Sea? - A draft study coordinated by the U.S. Department of the Interior and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recommended that the current piecemeal management of the Bering Sea be replaced by the control of a single managing authority. The icy Bering Sea is home to many pinniped species including the endangered Steller (Northern) sea lion. Some environmental organisations and Alaska Native groups contend that the Bering Sea is being overfished. (23 October 1997)
Environmental groups attempt to stop Arctic drilling - Following on from Greenpeace's earlier attempts at legal action, several environmental groups petitioned U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt at the beginning of October to bar oil and natural gas drilling offshore from Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Among the concerns being raised is the scale of the environmental disaster that would be caused by an oil blow-out. (23 October 1997)
Norwegian 'coastal elk-hunt' seal kill finishes for the year - On 30 September the second of the two 1997 hunting seasons in which members of the public kill seals along the Norwegian coasts ended. The licensed hunt has been described as the 'coastal elk-hunt' as it is mainly private people and not professional fishermen that do the hunting. On the question of how many seals live along the coast, the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries stated that they are not really certain how many there are and that reports from the hunt help provide researchers with more definite numbers. (23 October 1997)
Travelling show refused entry to Puerto Rico - The M&M Amusement Park of Caguas, Puerto Rico has been refused permission by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to import and display three South American sea lions as part of the Columbian company WaterLand-Mundo Marino's travelling show (see 'Opposition to travelling show ...', August 1997). Reasons for the refusal include the "inherently stressful nature and risk of harm to the animals." (6 October 1997)
Pro-sealing conference announced - The North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO) is arranging a conference and exhibition entitled 'Sealing the Future' to take place on 25-27 November 1997 in St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. The conference will include sessions on the marketing of seal meat, oil and skin and will also include a five-course seal dinner and an international seal fashion show. (6 October 1997)
Washington State has lethal permit extended - The U.S. National Marine Fisheries service has announced the four year extension of the authorisation which allows Washington State officials to lethally remove sea lions at Ballard Locks which are observed killing steelhead trout between 1 January and 31 May. The authorisation stipulates that non-lethal deterrence methods should first be attempted. No sea lions have yet been killed under the authorisation, first granted in 1995, although three were taken to Sea World in Florida where one subsequently died. (6 October 1997)
Scottish grey seal islands nominated for special status - The islands of Faray and Holm of Faray, part of the Orkney Islands, have been proposed by the government for designation as Special Areas of Conservation. This status, aimed at protecting sites of scientific importance under the European Community's Habitats Directive, will aid the protection of the rare grey seals which breed there. The public consultation period on the proposed designation ends on 23 December 1997. (6 October 1997)
Austrian report says seals unsuitable for circuses - The Office of the Environmental Commissioner of the City of Vienna has produced guidelines on the keeping of wild animals in circuses which places seals in the category 'species which are totally unsuitable for keeping in circuses'. (6 October 1997)
Canadian seal cull opinion poll - An Angus Reid poll released on 4 September 1997 showed that half of Canadians want the east coast commercial harp and hooded seal hunt to end. In addition 75% oppose federal subsidisation of the hunt (41% being unaware that their tax dollars actually supported the hunt), while half the respondents didn't know that the Canadian government allows the hunting of seals less than one year old - when informed 85% opposed this activity. (16 September 1997)
Opposition to Alaskan drilling - Greenpeace petitioned the U.S. District Court in an attempt to prevent Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) from commencing drilling at a new site in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska, arguing that activities at the site would disturb seals and other marine mammals. The Court ruled (21 August) that ARCO did not require a marine mammal permit before the site was set up as the company assumed the risk of penalty if disturbance was actually caused. Application for the permit was lodged by ARCO with the National Marine Fisheries Service in May 1997 but has not yet been granted. (16 September 1997)
Norwegian 1997 Seal Hunt Figures - The 1997 Norwegian seal hunt is reported as having taken about 9,820 seals with two vessels at Jan Mayen and the White Sea killing about 2,780 hooded seal pups, 1,950 weaned harp seal pups, 90 adult hooded seals and 5,000 adult harp seals. (16 September 1997)
Morbillivirus found in Mediterranean Monk Seals - An article in Nature magazine (vol. 388(6645) p838) by the Dutch scientist Dr Albert Osterhaus and others has identified a newly found morbillivirus in Mediterranean monk seals which died in the recent West African mass mortality. It was a morbillivirus, phocine distemper virus (PDV), which was the cause of the epizootic which killed 20,000 seals, mainly harbour seals, in Northern Europe in 1988. (16 September 1997)
Shrinking sea ice threatens Arctic seals - Scientists have warned that rising sea temperatures caused by global warming will cause shrinking sea ice and thus reduce the production of ice algae, a vital component of the Arctic food web of which seals are part. The Western Arctic has increased in temperature by 0.75ēC per decade for the past three decades and the area covered by sea ice has decreased by 5.5% since 1978. (16 September 1997)
Finland announces autumn seal cull - The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has decided to grant licenses to cull up to 30 Baltic grey seals in the Gulf of Bothnia this autumn. As with the Swedish grey seal cull in July, the cull is to take place in order to evaluate whether removing seals reduces fisheries gear and catch damage. Opposition to these plans is being voiced on moral, conservation and scientific grounds. The Baltic grey seal population is officially classified in the IUCN Red List as 'Endangered'. (19 August 1997)
Sweden to consider further seal culling - The Swedish Minister of the Environment, Anna Lindh, has announced that the Government is willing to discuss proposals for a 'limited' cull of the 'local' grey seal population. This decision comes hot on the heels of the country's 'scientific' seal cull which took place in July. (19 August 1997)
Opposition to travelling show's plans to enter Puerto Rico - The company WaterLand-Mundo Marino, based in Columbia, is meeting opposition from animal welfare groups for its plans to take a show featuring sea lions and dolphins to Puerto Rico. Opponents fear that if the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permits entry to the show then that will give it, and others, the green light to tour the rest of the U.S. Travelling shows featuring marine mammals have not been allowed in the U.S. since 1972. The NMFS's decision is due at the end of September. (19 August 1997)
Hooker's sea lion re-classified as 'threatened' - The New Zealand Minister of Conservation, Nick Smith, has announced that he has approved re-classification of the Hooker's Sea Lion from a 'vulnerable' to a 'threatened' species under national legislation. Increasing sea lion mortality in squid fishery trawl nets has led to the decision to draw up a new management plan for the species in negotiation with fisheries organisations. (19 August 1997)
Canadian 1996 seal hunt may have taken up to 500,000 -The Canadian press has reported that a member of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has privately disclosed that up to 500,000 seals may have been killed in the 1996 Canadian offshore seal hunt although the official count was 262,402. DFO personnel found several ships carrying the same number of male seal genitals as pelts although, since males and females cannot be distinguished before they are shot, there should have been roughly double the number of pelts. This suggests that sealers have been discarding the female seals but collecting the pelts and more lucrative genitalia from the male seals. There is currently little market for seal pelts. (19 August 1997)
Namibian Seal Product Factory gets Go-Ahead - The Town Council of Henties Bay in Namibia has given the go-ahead to Namibia Export Services and Sea Lion Products for a fur seal product processing factory. The planned factory complex will include an abattoir, bone meal plant, fat processing plant, canning factory and a leatherware factory. Products will also include cosmetics and creams. It is believed that a high level of profit will be made by selling the fur seal penises to the Far East where they are much in demand as aphrodisiacs. The two companies behind the project want a minimum level of increased fur seal cull over the next few years to guarantee success. (30 July 1997)
Sweden proceeds with cull of Baltic grey seals- The Swedish government and WWF-Sweden have begun a cull of up to 30 grey seals in order to determine whether or not the killing of these seals near fishing gear will minimise seal damage to gear and catches. The plan is proceeding in spite of evidence from the United Kingdom which shows that such killing only has a short-term effect on the level of seal-fisheries interactions. The Seal Conservation Society has not yet been offered evidence that sufficient research has been carried out into the nature and extent of the problem and into alternative non-lethal deterrence techniques. Grey seal numbers in Swedish waters are still in the single thousands, having been as high as 100,000 at the turn of the century before exploitation and pollution decimated their populations. (30 July 1997)
El Niņo warning - Scientists have warned that the worst weather for years, including gale force winds, will hammer Australia, Africa, the United States and South America this winter as a result of the El Niņo phenomenon. El Niņo, Spanish for the 'Christ child' is a process where the warming of the oceans sparks climate change through the Southern Oscillation. Studies have shown that recent occurrences of El Niņo have had marked negative effects on the breeding and survival of the many pinniped species whose range is most badly hit by the phenomenon. (30 July 1997)
Islands submitted for World Heritage status - New Zealand has proposed to UNESCO that its sub-Antarctic islands be given World Heritage status. The islands, including the Campbell, Auckland, Antipodes, Bounty and Snares islands, are an important home for the Hooker's sea lion and the New Zealand fur seal. The Hooker's sea lion, classified as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN's Red List, has been threatened in recent years by a high level of mortality due to accidental entrapment in fishing gear. Other seals such as the leopard seal are regular visitors to the islands. (30 July 1997)
Mediterranean monk seal mortalities - Since the middle of May more than a hundred monk seals have died on the Cap Blanc peninsula, Mauritania, West Africa, due to unknown reasons. The Cap Blanc peninsula is the biggest breeding site for this highly endangered species and the estimated loss of 47% of the Cap Blanc population (74% of the adult population) is therefore a catastrophe. Research is currently being carried out to determine the cause of these deaths while some pups have been rescued for rehabilitation and urgent consideration is being given to translocating a proportion of the population to another more protected site. The world population of Mediterranean monk seals is now probably under 500, other populations of note existing in Madeira, the Greek/Turkish islands and the coasts of Morocco and Algeria. (7 July 1997)
Pressure for cull in Uruguay - South American fur seals and sea lions are under threat in Uruguay as local fishermen call for a cull of their numbers. The fishermen argue that the fur seals and sea lions are destroying their nets and stealing their catch whereas conservationists argue that the interactions of these animals with the fisheries is minimal and blame over-fishing and coastal pollution for the drop in fish numbers. Meanwhile there are plans for a fur factory in Uruguay to process pelts from fur seals. Sea lions and fur seals in Uruguay have been legally protected from culling for the last six years. (7 July 1997)
Mass deaths of unique Baikal seal - In late May dozens of seals which inhabit Russia's remote Lake Baikal in Siberia were found dead and dying. The seals were discovered close to a paper mill and conservationists are claiming that the deaths have been caused by pollution from the mill or by an infectious disease to which the seals succumbed through reduced resistance caused by this pollution. State officials are currently attempting to determine the exact cause of the Baikal seal mortality. Baikal seals have been severely threatened in recent times by hunting and environmental pollutants. (7 July 1997)
HELCOM reject revision of Baltic seal protection legislation - The Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Working Group of HELCOM (the Helsinki Commission) decided in June not to accept a proposed revision of Recommendation 9/1 which, among other aspects, would have re-permitted controlled hunting of Baltic Seal populations. The proposal, put forward by Finland, is to be postponed until further scientific evidence can be obtained. Populations of the three seal species in the Baltic Sea - grey seal, harbour seal and ringed seal - have been severely depleted this century by hunting and the effects of pollution and are only starting to recover. They still suffer significant mortality and health problems caused by such factors as bycatch, entanglement, shooting, disturbance and pollution. (7 July 1997)
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