Locals say seals threaten fish
stocks
By Matthew Belson
August 18, 2006
A
great white shark has the power to strike fear into the hearts of, well,
pretty much everybody, but for some local commercial fishermen the abundant
seal population living in Chatham waters poses a greater threat to their
livelihood.
"There is a growing concern
about the seal population," said Paul Bremser, a Chatham resident who
observed a great white shark attack and eat a seal off Lighthouse Beach July
18. Bremser was giving a surfing lesson at the time.
Bremser told the board of selectmen
Tuesday that, as a commercial fisherman, he believes the seals are
decimating inshore fish populations through feeding and the spread of
fish-eating parasitic worms found in their feces.
"Seals eat the fish, the same
fish fishermen are trying to catch," said Selectwoman Deborah Connors,
who has heard similar concerns about the seals.
Bremser asked selectmen to sign a
letter he drafted to elected officials.
"I want Congress to review the
Marine Mammals Protection Act and send scientists to Chatham," he said.
Tom Rudolph, program coordinator for
Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, helped draft the letter
and said there is merit to Bremser's concerns about an unchecked growing
seal population.
Unlike the Endangered Species Act,
Rudolph said the Marine Mammals Protection Act does not establish a healthy
target number for a seal population to reach.
Seals are federally protected after
decades of extensive hunting for their pelts.
Rudolph hopes the letter would be
sent to Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy, and U.S. Rep.
William Delahunt. The idea is to foster a dialogue about the issue and
encourage scientific studies of the impact of the growing seal populations
on the local fishery and what is a healthy number.
"We feel there are major data
gaps," said Rudolph. "The way to narrow the gap between perception
and reality is through education."
A majority of the selectmen agreed
and voted 4-1 to send the letter to local representatives.
Selectmen Chairman David Whitcomb did
not vote to send the letter, explaining he needed more time to review the
issue.
Rudolph said support will also be
sought from other boards of selectmen on the Cape and in other coastal
communities in Massachusetts for better studies of the growing seal
populations.
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