Ocean waste: Rare Atlantic grey seal found with fishing debris caught around neck at breeding site
Litter such as fishing nets can pose a threat for decades, ensnaring all types of ocean life, says the National Trust.
Friday 16 October 2020 12:20, UK
Conservationists have warned "wildlife are paying the price" of ocean waste after a seal was found with fishing debris caught around her neck at a breeding ground.
Photos taken on a remote beach in Pembrokeshire show the female Atlantic grey seal tangled in a piece of fishing net or line.
Her young pup is also shown in the pictures.
The Atlantic grey seal is a protected sea mammal and one of the rarest species of seal in the world.
There are thought to be around 300,000 globally, with half living in British and Irish waters.
Natural Resources Wales monitors the seals in the Pembrokeshire marine special area of conservation.
Mark Underhill, countryside manager for the National Trust, said: "Every day vast quantities of waste is being dumped into the sea and our wildlife is paying the price.
"Litter such as fishing nets and tackle does not simply go away and can pose a threat for decades, ensnaring all types of ocean life, as seen here off the west Wales coast.
"We have made good progress on coastal litter, but sea pollution remains a huge problem that we as a society must address if we are to protect our most beautiful places and diverse wildlife."
Kate Lock, marine environmental assessment officer, said: "The problem with netting entanglement is of growing concern, especially with the high numbers recorded each year.
"In 2019, just in the area around Skomer Island, 28 individual seals were photographed with obvious signs that they were entangled at some point in their lives."
Last year, a State of Nature report by 70 conservation charities including the National Trust highlighted the challenges faced by sea life in the UK.
These include declining fish stocks, loss of habitat and warming seas.
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Incidents of entanglement and ingestion of plastics by marine animals are now widely reported, according to the National Trust.
In 2019, it found that an uninhabited island in its care had been littered with elastic bands, which gulls were mistaking for worms.
A National Trust spokeswoman said taking away rubbish and debris from the coast was diverting rangers' time from vital conservation work.
She called on businesses and producers to consider how they dispose of materials that could cause harm to wildlife.
In August, experts said the amount of plastic dumped into the Atlantic Ocean has been "massively underestimated".
A study found invisible microplastics in the Atlantic weighed around 12 to 21 million tonnes. But the estimate only considered three of the most common types of plastic litter.