Cape fur seals are under threat from plastic pollution, with marine teams in South Africa taking critical action to save these vital marine creatures. Picture: Cathy Withers-Clarke
Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing threats to South Africa’s Cape fur seals, prompting dedicated marine teams to take urgent action to protect these vulnerable creatures.
As part of CNN’s Call to Earth report, a specialised team from the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Marine Wildlife Management Programme (MWMP) in Cape Town has been spotlighted for their groundbreaking efforts to disentangle seals ensnared by plastic debris.
Cape fur seals, once heavily hunted, are now a protected species with an estimated population of around two million along the Southern African coastline. Despite their protected status, these seals face numerous challenges, including the impacts of climate change, human-wildlife conflict, and disease outbreaks like rabies.
One of the most immediate and tangible threats, however, is plastic pollution, particularly debris from commercial fishing.
“They help balance everything out from being a prey source to being a predator themselves,” explained Martine Viljoen of the MWMP.
“They indicate how the health of the ocean is doing and they give us a valuable insight into the bigger picture of our ocean health.”
The MWMP team has built a dedicated seal platform in Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront Harbour, designed specifically to aid in the rescue of seals entangled in plastic.
“We have around 100 seals a year that come into the waterfront with plastic entanglements around their necks,” said Brett Glasby, a key member of the MWMP team.
“But if they come and rest on our platform here with the wide slats, we get to climb into wetsuits, swim below them, and disentangle them.”
The disentanglement process is highly specialised. Teams of snorkellers use custom-made tools to carefully cut seals free from entangling plastic, such as fishing lines and plastic bags. Glasby demonstrated the tool, a hooked blade thin enough to fit through the platform’s wooden slats, designed to snap entanglements off the seals’ necks with precision.
The urgency of this work is underscored by the increasing number of seals being rescued each year. In 2023 alone, the MWMP team successfully disentangled 124 seals at the V&A Waterfront, a number that continues to rise.
Viljoen highlights the critical need for human intervention: “Seals need our help. We’ve put them in situations that they can’t get out of themselves, and we have to step in and help.”
The MWMP’s efforts not only save individual seals, but also provide crucial insights into the broader health of marine ecosystems. As plastic pollution continues to threaten marine life, the work of these marine teams remains vital in safeguarding the future of South Africa’s Cape fur seals.
IOL