UP to three quarters, or 150_000, of Namibia’s seal pups could starve this season if the weather continues to push the fish they eat away from the shore, a marine biologist warned. Trade winds from the southern Atlantic, which should cause an upwelling of a plankton-rich cold current along the coast, had weakened. The fish then stay with the plankton in deeper waters. This forces the mature mammals in Namibia’s seal population of 600_000 to swim further in search of food. “If feeding trips take too long, then obviously the pups eventually will starve,” said the biologist. Namibia’s 1 200km coastline is littered with small, decaying seal carcasses. – AFP