Animal caretakers from Ecomare and volunteers from the KNRM freed a seal from a piece of fishing net on the Razende Bol yesterday. It is the umpteenth time in a short time that a seal gets into trouble.
The volunteers and animal caretakers managed to catch the seal with a hoop net and cut the net loose, reports Texelse Courant.
Henk Slagter organizes seal tours and spotted the animal during one of those tours. Because the seal was on dry land and Slagter saw that there was a sandbank off the coast, he estimated that there was a good chance that the animal could be caught. He then called nature museum and seal sanctuary Ecomare.
Immediately released
The immature gray seal had the piece just around its neck. The group managed to catch and fix the animal, after which the net could be cut loose. The rope had caused a wound, meaning the animal had been swimming around with it for quite some time. According to the animal caretakers, the wound heals on its own, which is why the seal was immediately released.
Several seals have run into problems in the past month. One of these animals escaped before the net in which it was entangled could be removed.
Waste hazards
Ecomare warns of the dangers that loose fishing nets, balloon ribbon and plastic packaging material can cause to marine animals. “Unfortunately, we often see the consequences at Ecomare.”