The perils of marine debris to our wildlife are fairly well known – be it the plastic filled stomach contents of an albatross, or a penguin nesting with a coke bottle, it’s always pretty gutting to witness.

Entangled fur seal rescued from fishing net

Last week we were lucky enough to make it in time to rescue a fur seal pup which had become entangled in a fishing net here in Wellington.  Quite how the incident occurred we don’t know, but the poor wee thing was pretty raw around the neck as a result of it.

Seal with net around neck

Fur seals can be quite aggressive and give a nasty bite, especially when distressed, so DOC staff were sure to take a cautious approach.

DOC staff, Hawea and Dave, capturing seal

Once released of its unwanted necklace, the feisty wee pup headed off into the Taputeranga Marine Reserve for a swim around and we’re hopeful it’ll make a full recovery.

Unfortunately, other fur seals around New Zealand haven’t been so lucky. This fella was found dead in a similar style of fishing net on Makara Beach – also in the Cook Strait region.

Dead seal entangled in net

You can help our marine wildlife

The good news is that we can all help to stop these things happening. You can:

• make sure to dispose of you litter carefully;
• pick up any fishing materials, or other marine debris, when you see it and dispose of it in a bin;
• get involved with a local coastal care group;
• take part in a beach clean event;
• tell your friends and family to do the same.

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Have you ever seen marine debris threatening our wildlife? What did you do?

Learn more

Learn more about the New Zealand fur seal/kekeno on the DOC website.