A couple of days ago seal first-aider, Dirk Visser, found a severely wounded, two year old grey seal. The seal was entangled in a piece of fishnet that was wound tightly around his neck, causing deep cuts. Jan Koning, another seal first-aider, had spotted the poor animal earlier on the Engelse Hoek sandbank, but was unable to help the seal. The net had caused a deep wound and severe internal infection. The grey seal was still alive at the time of discovery, but unfortunately it died shortly after, due to blood poisoning (caused by the infection).
For many years, the SRRC has been collecting drift nets, which have been lost in sea by fishermen and in which seals, porpoises and birds often become entangled. Thanks to the help of many fishing boats, we now have a mountain of over 800.000 kg of nets lying on the SRRC grounds. Luckily, marine life cannot get caught up and drown in these nets anymore. However, we were unable to save this animal with our actions.
03-06-2008 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
