Happy ending for strangled fur seal

Tag : Jack Mackerel
A young New Zealand fur seal being slowly strangled by fishing netmesh was rescued on the shores of Twofold Bay on Monday.
Local Fisheries officers Ian Merrington and Matt Proctor togetherwith ranger Wendy Noble from National Parks and Wildlife Servicescoordinated the rescue which unfolded over two hours near LakeCuralo mouth on Aslings Beach.
All three were trained in marine animal rescue and disentanglementwith NPWS.
Fisheries officers in their 5.8-metre Gemini rigid hulledinflatable boat first gained the fur seal's confidence by whistlingto it and throwing pilchards sourced from Pelagic Fish Processing.
They then planned to gaff a loose part of the mesh to pull it overthe mammal's head but the young seal was naturally wary of thelong, hooked stick.
Plan B was to cast a treble hook lure with the barbs removedtowards the mesh.
The lure was hooked on a strand of net and as the seal resisted thepressure the net pulled free over its head.
National Parks and Wildlife officer Wendy Noble was on the shoreand said the animal was in quite good spirits, and splashed arounda lot after the mesh was removed from around its throat.
"It has a big laceration but it will heal quickly in the salt wateras it is a young seal," she said.
"I was so pleased with our success today as it'd probably havestaved to death in the end."
The seal returned the following day and was seen with one flipperin the air, a position often taken by resting seals in the water.
"The message we could get out is that if we see mesh or plasticbags in the water or on our shores we need to remove them."
"An inquisitive seal will poke its nose into it and rubbish is alsoa threat to other marine animals."
It was believed that the mesh may have been from a New Zealandbased trawler.
The fur seal was the second to take refuge in our bay in recentweeks.
In late June a larger suspected fur seal took chose the back of theMaritime Services boat at Snug Cove to recuperate for several daysafter its tail flippers were wounded.
Fur seals are a protected species.
Fur seal facts
Authorities say it is very difficult to tell the difference betweenthe Australian fur seal and the New Zealand fur seal.
The New Zealand fur seal is slightly smaller than the Australianfur seal and have much darker colouration.
The New Zealand fur seal's main prey includes redbait and jackmackerel and myctophid species.
Unlike the Australian fur seal, it also consumes seabirds such aslittle penguins and shearwaters.
The carnivorous animals lead a largely pelagic existence in theopen sea pursuing their prey wherever it is abundant and plentiful.
Many fur seal species were almost hunted to extinction in the 19thcentury when their fur was highly valued.