The government this week announced an annual rolling Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for seals of 80000 pups and 6000 bulls, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in its news from Cabinet chambers.
This year's annual harvesting season will run from 1 July to 15 November, the ministry said.
The statement said a seal population survey conducted in December 2005 indicated a total pup count of 205,500 pups and 650,000 adult seals.

“Harvested colonies at Cape Cross, Atlas Bay and Wolf Bay represent 60 percent of the total pup production in Namibia, while non harvested land based and island colonies each represent 20 percent” the statement said.
During 2006, the total food consumption by seals was estimated to be up to 900,000 tons, the statement said. The total annual landings of the Namibian fishing industry are between 500,000 and 600,000 tons per year, the statement said.
“This means that seals are consuming far more fish than what is caught by the commercial fleet. Furthermore, the major part of the biomass of Namibia's hake and pilchard stocks currently comprises small fish, which are the size that are typically consumed by seals,” the ministry said.
Cabinet also advised the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources to consider granting exploratory rights as part of the TAC to harvest only pups on smaller existing nearby colonies and that mitigating mechanisms be worked out by the minister and the industry to reduce seal predation of hake and other species.