Page 290 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1
P. 290

at Seal Island. No counts of pups have been made at either
                                                                    island.
                                                                    Conservation status: The islands fall within NIMPA so ac-
                                                                    tivities are restricted and controlled.
                                                                    Ecotourism: None currently, but boat-based tourism is al-
                                                                    lowed within 10 m of the shore, as stipulated in the NIMPA
                                                                    report (Currie et al. 2009; Ludynia et al. 2012 ).
                                                                    Harvesting status: There is no harvesting of seals.

                                                                    Long Islands (North and South) Coordinates: 26.82 S;
                                                                    15.12 E
                                                                    Description:  Two long, rocky islands in the immediate
                                                                    vicinity  of  Wolf  (North  Long  Island)  and  Atlas  (South
                                                                    Long Island) bays, with a high concentration of fur seals.
                                                                    Conservation status:  The rocks fall  within  NIMPA  and
                                                                    have restricted access (Currie et al. 2009, Ludynia et al.
                  An aerial view of Staple Rock, 2020 (photo MFMR)  2012).
                                                                    Ecotourism:  None currently, but with potential  for  both
                  Boat Bay Rocks                                    land- and boat-based tourism. However, boat-based tour-
                  Coordinates: 26.42 S; 15.09 E                     ism is only allowed at least 30 m away  from the island
                  Description:  Rocky islands  located within Boat Bay.   in order to avoid disturbance of seals (Currie et al. 2009).
                  Conservation status:  The rocks fall  within  NIMPA  and   Harvesting  status:  Harvesting  of seals  on  the Long Is-
                  have restricted access (Currie et al. 2009, Ludynia et al.  lands dates back to 1854 and continued for several years
                  2012). There is no harvesting of seals.           from about 1873 (Shaughnessy 1984). A concession to har-
                  Ecotourism: None currently.                       vest seals at Long Islands was first granted in 1974 (after
                                                                    a harvest in 1973), with an allocated annual quota of 1,500
                  Dumfudgeon Rock                                   yearlings and 400 adults (Shaughnessy 1978), which was
                  Coordinates: 26.48 S; 15.12 E                     exceeded. There is currently no commercial harvesting of
                  Description:  A  rocky island  south of  Little Boat Bay.   seals at this colony. Numbers of seals (including pups, bulls
                  Conservation status:  The rocks fall  within  NIMPA  and   and animals of an undisclosed age) that were harvested at
                  have restricted access (Currie et al. 2009, Ludynia et al.  Long Islands are shown below.
                  2012). There is no harvesting of seals.                Year               No. harvested
                  Ecotourism: None currently.
                                                                         1897                   1,718
                  Seal and Penguin islands                               1900                   1,849
                  Coordinates: Seal 26.596 S; 15.154 E; Penguin 26.614   1902                   1,913
                  S; 15.154 E                                            1903                   2,626
                  Description: These are two steep, rocky islands in the im-   1904             2,319
                  mediate  vicinity  of  Lüderitz  Bay  that  fall  within  the  limits   1905  1,354
                  of Lüderitz port. Excavations undertaken by South Africa’s
                  Department  of Forestry, Fisheries  and  the Environment   1906               2,113
                  (DFFE)  showed  that  seals  formerly  bred  at  both  islands   1907         850
                  (DFFE unpublished information). In 2021, seals only bred   Shaughnessy (1984)

                                                                         Year               No. harvested
                                                                         1973                   1,543
                                                                         1974                   3,740
                                                                         1975                   5,282
                                                                         1976                   3,831
                                                                    Shaughnessy (1978)

















                  An aerial view of Dumfudgeon Rock, 2020 (photo MFMR)  An aerial view of North Long Island, 2020 (photo MEFT)


                                                                 284
   285   286   287   288   289   290   291   292   293   294   295