Namibia’s government has authorized the culling of 80,000 Cape Fur Seals for the upcoming 2024 fishing season, which runs from July 1st to November 15th.
The decision aligns with the Total Allowable Catch recommended by the Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC).
The proposal, submitted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and endorsed by Cabinet, sets the Total Allowable Catch for Cape fur seals at 70,000 pups and 10,000 bulls for the 2024 season.
The cull is intended to manage the country’s Cape fur seal population, which is estimated to be around 1.6 million strong.
It is said that one adult can feed on 3.8 kg of fish daily, meaning that 1.5 million seals would eat 5.7 million kg (5,700 metric tons) of fish per day and 2.8 million metric tons of fish per year.
This amount is approximately four times more than the annual combined Total Allowable Catch for hake, horse mackerel, and monk per year.
Since independence in 1990, Namibia was estimated to have had a seal population of approximately 350,000 individuals.
In 2023, the population of seals in Namibia was estimated to be between 1.5 to 2 million individuals or even more.
