The desert nation of Namibia, located on the Atlantic coast of southern Africa, has literally plunged into the so-called “blue economy.” With massive farms of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, the country is on its way to becoming a major exporter of seaweed-derived products. The industry provides jobs and also serves as a carbon sink.
One hundred thousand seals lie lazily along the shores of Pelican Point — a sandspit stretching out into the ocean just outside Walvis Bay in Namibia. A jackal prowls along the edge of the seal colony, waiting for an unattended pup, to grab a meal. Charles, the wildlife guide on our boat, tells us about the life of the Cape fur seal, which doesn’t seem very different from that of grey seals in the Baltic Sea.
