The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation performed 19 seal disentanglements during October, a massive spike in their usual numbers, so the team are committed to monitoring the situation for SA!
Cape Town, South Africa (10 October 2021) – The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation works to protect our oceans by raising awareness and ensuring our ocean animals are safe. They also work within the harbour of the V&A Waterfront to care for the population of seals.
The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation runs the Marine Wildlife Management Programme at the V&A Waterfront. One of the core functions is seal disentanglement. They assist Cape fur seals that get caught in discarded fishing gear and items of plastic pollution.
The team kept records of the disentanglements and found that the numbers for October were much higher than usual. Something the team is concerned about but is committing to monitoring.
“The programme usually disentangles four to five seals per month, but in October 2021 we had a staggering 19 seal disentanglements! We are hopeful that this was an anomaly and we will continue to monitor the situation with hopes that the need for this does not become a more regular occurrence.”
Cape fur seals feed on shoaling fish, squid, octopus, sharks and rays, all of which sometimes find their way into the maze of the waterfront, making the area a great place for the seals to hang out. Did you know that they can dive to depths of over 200m and hold their breath for up to 7.5 minutes?
The important thing we can all do to prevent entanglements is pick up litter, ropes and fishing lines we find along the beaches of South Africa. Every little bit helps. You can support the TOA Education Foundation in other ways too. You can find out how here.
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