Gray seal population needs no protection – Mike Rice, South Wellfleet
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the giant panda is being taken off the endangered species list and reclassified as vulnerable. A nationwide Chinese census taken in 2014 found 1,864 giant pandas in the wild, up from 1,596 back in 2004. An estimated 40,000-plus gray seals alone call Monomoy Island off Chatham home. That leaves me wondering why the gray seal is still protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. As the gray seal population in Cape waters continues to boom, drawing more great white sharks to our area every summer, I’m left thinking the tourist industry here may soon join the fishing industry, and be classified as vulnerable, too. It’s time to de-list the gray seal from the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Link 08:49
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