This seal youngster was buried in fishing line. Multiple strands of line had wrapped around his neck, cutting through layers of flesh so deeply that even our favorite rescue tooll, the Leatherman Raptor, struggled to get through. The wound was raw, red, and reeked of infection. Despite that, the seal was strong and healthy. Rescuer Antoine spoke softly to him, promising he would be okay. But the truth is, none of them should ever have to endure this. Entanglements like this are not accidents, they are the logical outcome of unchecked plastic waste and reckless fishing practices. If this is what it takes to enjoy a hobby or empty the ocean, we’ve crossed a line. And it’s always the animals who pay.
I think that's the one in the middle there.
The one sleeping like this? Just left of that.
There are two juveniles next to the one that is standing up.
Where the one is standing up is basically where we need to storm.
Do you guys see it?
I think he's where the seal is standing.
I don't know. Okay, let's go, no?
He has to be there.
It's okay, puppy.
You're a juvenile actually.
I remove that so you can see me. No, we're friends now!
It's cutting really bad on the other side, so try to cut on this side what you can.
Try to go underneath, and cut everything at the same time.
Go all the way on the scissors.
Here you go, like this.
Don't pull yet, I just want to make sure we have everything here.
It's really bad.
I'm going to roll him. No, puppy, well, juvenile.
Wait, don't pull because he's massive actually.
Can you give me the flipper here, the right flipper?
Oh, man, this is so deep!
And it stinks.
Don't pull too much. Pull, but closer from the wound.
Try to pull from underneath.
Oh, it stinks!
Wait, there's a deeper one.
Do what you were just doing, pull all the lines from the left to the right.
This one is stuck.
Go back to the right now, and I think you can pull, yeah.
Freaking hell.
You go, you go!
Yeah, clean with the sand first, and we will clean later.
This is commercial fishing line, not snoek line though, it's thinner.
He must have had it for a long time.
He's a yearling, very healthy, but he would have died in a couple of weeks, maybe a bit more.
Every year, over 15 million kilometres of commercial fishing line are abandoned, lost or discarded at sea.
