Slow and steady does it when trying to remove fishing line from a seal’s body; Brett Glasby spent a few very cautious moments saving a seal in the Waterfront recently.
Cape Town, South Africa (13 October 2022) – 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.
They shared what it looks like when Marine Wildlife Management Programme Coordinator, Brett Glasby cuts a seal free of an entanglement. Brett shared how he does it best and what tools he needs to make sure the job is done well.
“Tools of the trade: When disentangling seals we use a range of tools but the most valuable is a curved blade that is blunt on the outer edge. Perfect example is a seat belt cutter. My favourite for seals that we are able to capture and get close to is the Leatherman Z-Rex. This tool is perfectly suited to this task” – Brett Glasby, Marine Wildlife Management Programme Coordinator
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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