The following is an opinion piece sent to me printed in the Cape Cod Times about the Seal population, and the potential effects they are having on other native animals and Cape Cod's tourism.

It is a very interesting piece that will hopefully get the layman, non-fisherman, thinking about the lasting effects those cute, cuddly seals are having on all the people of the Outer Cape, and not just us selfish fishermen.

September 24, 2009

The recent increase in sightings of great white sharks in the coastal waters off of Cape Cod has made the news in a rather sensational way. Great whites are now present in our near-shore areas in numbers sufficient to produce multiple sightings and ultimately cause beach closures.

These spectacular animals are here for one reason, and that is the abundance of a favorite food source in the many seals that now inhabit a wide range of Cape Cod's seashore and islands, with a particularly large population on Monomoy Island. The sharks themselves pose only a minimal threat to humans and no threat to the marine ecology; however, the same cannot be said for the shark's favored food source.

In 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act included seals (along with whales and polar bears) under a blanket protection act. Even after some changes in 1994 which shifted pinnipeds (which includes seals) from "protection status" to "managed status" the increase in their numbers on Cape Cod has produced numerous deleterious results. Among these include:

* Threat to public health: Numerous beach closures due to high levels of fecal coliform believed due to seal excrement. This is the same bacteria that has shut down whole town water supplies. There are also increased beach closures due to seal predation by sharks.

* Injury to threatened species: The seal populations are occupying and preventing access to key nesting areas for piping plovers and least terns.

* Injury to recovering cod stocks and threat to public health: Seals harbor a parasite (parasitic round worm) in their gut that infects any cod that consume seal excrement. This can impact the health of the cod as well as humans (though rarely) who consume that cod. Seals also readily predate upon young cod.

* Injury to other marine species: Anecdotal evidence suggests that seals on the outer cape have virtually eliminated populations of windowpane flounder, skate and fluke from those areas where the seal populations are largest.

* Restriction to human access and recreation: Seals often harass fisherman by taking hooked fish off the line, limit beach access due to protection of "haul out" areas and close beaches due to excrement and by attracting the presence of predatory sharks.

* Impact on the Cape's economy: All of these issues reduce tourism, which is the lifeblood for the Cape, affecting lodging, restaurants, visitation to attractions, and shopping.

Ecologically we know that in the absence of predators, a prey species will begin to overwhelm its environment and consume available resources unchecked. This is often seen when invasive species, such as the zebra mussel, Asian longhorned beetle and purple loosestrife are introduced to an area void of its normal predators.

The same occurs when a predator of a native species is removed from the environment. Humans have hunted seals for thousands of years and represent a natural predator. However, due to the inclusion of all pinnipeds under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, we have removed ourselves as one of the seal's primary predators and in doing so have created an ecological imbalance.

It is time to recognize that we can no longer have single-species management policies that protect one species (seals) without considering the impact of that protection on other species (cod, other fishes, shore birds). It is time to create a more reasonable Marine Mammal Protection Act as it relates specifically to non-threatened species of seals. A goal of this revised plan would be to provide for better control of seal populations such that other environmental concerns, the survival of other marine and shore species, public health, human access to natural resources and economic concerns can be returned to a healthy balance.

Kudos to the gentleman that wrote the piece, Paul McClanahan, who lives in Truro.
Well written, without anger, or malice... more power to him...
where will it go from here, though??...
:smash:

Great, well written article that present a logical view of the seal problem. For too long now, the tree hugging environmentalist have had their way with protection of non-threatened species. Plovers and seals are two examples of this. I can see in the coming years a downturn in the tourism numbers (not that that would piss of the locals). How many seals can you look at and see cuteness? The points the author makes are striking in that he brings up other environmental issues such as the seal excrement causing fouled beaches and problems with the just now recovering cod stocks. Someone, somewhere has got to start listening.

Kudos and a well done to the author.

I enjoyed the article as well. But, sadly, this problem is never going away through the hand of man. Disease is our best hope.

Sweet job Paul :btu:

Well put, well considered.

Tourism is not the lifeblood of your economy if you made your money someplace else and are now retired and living on Cape Cod.

Thanks John. I was lucid for a short time this morning. Probably will pass.

So other than sharks taking care of them one by one, how do you start decreasing the seal population? I doubt they will issue hunting permits.

Swine flu?

So other than sharks taking care of them one by one, how do you start decreasing the seal population? I doubt they will issue hunting permits.

You are correct... 1972's law won't allow it, and will not be changed, or ammended, they have more Federal protection than human beings.

Tourism is not the lifeblood of your economy if you made your money someplace else and are now retired and living on Cape Cod.

Spot on, and those are the voters...not all the voters, but, the ones that go to town meeting and the polls, the monied up retirees with time to spare, gets their arse on the committees, and their opinions in the ears of those at Town Hall, they pull the strings of the puppett's...they will go to the meetings and the polls...they show up.
They have the time, and the dough, to get done, what they want done. They care not for local business, nor the long time residents needs or wants.

Like I mentioned...great piece, well written op-ed...but...Where is it going???


:doh:

I was with 13 other people this weekend on ACK and while I fished a seal kept popping up. I was getting annoyed and the wives were saying how cute he was. I tried to explain how they upset the balance of things but they couldn't get past how cute he was. It's a loosing battle.

So other than sharks taking care of them one by one, how do you start decreasing the seal population? I doubt they will issue hunting permits.

I am not bright enough to know the answer to that question but I don't think it wise for the population to be allowed to grow
untethered.
Brings to mind an interesting story. Back in the 80s there was a massive infestation of Gypsy Moths in my area. No one knew what to do about it. When I say massive I cannot fully describe the numbers but to give you an idea, they ate everything in site to the point where the forest was entirely defoliated. There were so many that, for some reason, they would mass on car tires at night. Now, these were still in the catapillar stage so your tires would look furry there were so many. On morning we got up and there were millions of them dead on the ground. The biologist said that there was so many that a virus developed and we had a total population collapse. Seems nature took care of the problem for us.
Perhaps that will happen with the seals.

It's pretty sad when there is a clear management problem and the answer to the problem is, "Wait until a disease develops."

Yes Joe that is sad.

I don't know why the law can't be amended???:huh:

Man has been upsetting the balance of things for centuries.

now where did I put that vial of dog distemper?hmmmm


Good article

I sold my camper I had in Wellfleet because of the nonsense, I'll support the economy around the canal instead.

Same here Slip. I use to do 600 miles every weekend (2 R/T from N. RI to P-Town and back.) Now I do the Canal for half the mileage and no seals, mung, plovers and a lot less abuse on my truck.