The National Assembly is working to find solutions to the growing seal population, which threatens the country's fish stock.

In 2023, Member of Parliament Mike Kavekotora tabled a motion calling for action. This motion was later referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources for further discussion.

During its consultations, the committee held a meeting with key stakeholders, including fishing companies, seal processing businesses, regional leaders, and local authorities.

The main goals were to review Namibia's laws on seal hunting, ensure they align with international agreements, and understand the hunting methods used, which have faced criticism from animal welfare groups.

The committee also gathered information on seal hunting quotas compared to the estimated seal population and to better understand the regulations that control seal harvesting in Namibia.

Helaria Mukapuli, who motivated the motion, highlighted key findings.

"The African fur seal's diet is made up of 70% fish, 20% squid, 2% crab and other species such as crustaceans, cephalopods and sometimes birds. The seal harvesting season runs from 1 July to November 15 yearly, about 6 months. The period is not sufficient for rights holders to complete the full quota allocated, mainly due to bad weather (the case of Luderitz) and limited availability of bulls. Observations indicate bulls start appearing in numbers towards the end of November, which is past the harvest season."

The committee recommended that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, for the sake of public interest, annually publish data on the total number of the seal population, the size of the quotas, and the actual number of pops and bulls harvested, as well as look into the possibility of extending the harvest season to the end of November.