World watches as Namibia ponders Chinese request Planned protest called off Growing resistance to a request by two Chinese companies to capture live marine animals in Namibian waters is attracting international attention. JANA-MARI SMITHA planned hand-over of a petition protesting the capture of live marine mammals for alleged export to Chinese zoos to the captain of a large Russian vessel anchored in the port of Walvis Bay could not be carried out due to fears the action could risk NamPort’s security rating.
In the past few weeks, two petitions have been making the rounds, protesting the application by two questionable Chinese companies to capture endangered marine wildlife off Namibia’s coast, to be transported on the vessel Ryazanovka, a Russian ship equipped to kill and capture marine wildlife, including orcas, African penguins, dolphins and seals.
According to a statement by the Marine Tour Association of Namibia, marine tourism operators have been subject to “verbal abuse, shouting and inappropriate signs” from crew stationed on the vessel in recent weeks.
The petition making the rounds at the coast has garnered close to 3 000 signatures, while an online petition had received 6 500 signatures by yesterday.
Meanwhile, the story is attracting international attention, with newspapers and animal rights organisations increasingly placing the spotlight on government’s yet-to-be-publicised decision on whether to grant a permit or quota.
According to the Namibia Chamber of Environment (NCE), among the many issues raised by the application, including false scientific claims contained in the Chinese proposal, and the crushing impact on conservation efforts, is the reputational damage Namibia could sustain should the proposal be approved.
Namibia’s high standing in the fields of conservation and sustainable resource management “would be seriously tarnished if approval for the capture of these species were to be given by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources,” the NCE said in a statement to Namibian Sun recently.
Moreover, the hit against Namibia’s reputation could harm the Namibian tourism industry, one of the main pillars of the country’s economy, and “in the current difficult climatic and economic circumstances, the fastest growing sector of the economy.”
The Marine Tour Association of Namibia stated over the weekend that the marine tourism industry has a combined annual turnover of about N$100 million, which could suffer serious harm should the Chinese proposal be successful.
Yesterday, the protestors limited their actions to a peaceful protest at the Walvis Bay Yacht Club, one of the organisers said.
“It was a very peaceful protest. We are not against the boat. We are against the minister of fisheries granting any licence or quota to harvest marine life from our coast,” Leon Kuhn emphasised.
The original plan was to board a number of pleasure craft and approaching the Ryazanovka in order to hand over the petition.
However, on Friday notice was given to the group that NamPort officials had requested the group to refrain from approaching the ship, as it could cost Walvis Bay its top-level security status.
The group was reportedly informed that should the captain of the vessel decide to report that his crew’s security was at risk from the approaching protestors, international maritime laws would be invoked, leading to a possible downgrading of the port’s security standing.
On Friday, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said the request to capture live mammals in Namibian waters would require input from the ministry.
He said the ministry was obligated to ensure that the request complies with Namibian environmental laws and policies in addition to international conventions on trade in wildlife to which Namibia must adhere.
He said the decision does not rest solely with the Ministry of Fisheries, as it needs to be considered against domestic and international laws governing environment issues, including wildlife.
The online petition states that “the functional integrity of the marine ecosystem can be badly damaged by removing critical marine wildlife. Removing any of them can cause irreversible damage to the entire food chain.”
Barry McGovern, a scientist working at the Namibian Dolphin Project, last week highlighted questions around the legality of the request to capture and export protected species, many of which are protected by several international regulations.
“It is highly possible that many parts of this proposal are breaking the law and it needs to be looked at very carefully before any decisions are made,” he said.
Dr Chris Brown of NCE added that several of the species the Chinese want to capture are “uncommon, rare, seriously declining in number or comprising small isolated populations in Namibian waters”.
He said there should be a “totally closed-door policy to any exploitation other than through carefully managed tourism”.
In line with the view of numerous researchers and scientists who oppose the application, on, among several other grounds, that the Chinese proposal contains significant scientific flaws, the NCE notes that a claim made by the Chinese that the mammals in question occur in “excess numbers” is untrue.
According to the NCE, the Chinese companies “are simply using populist misrepresentation and untruths to support an indefensible proposal.”