Marine biology experts expressed concern this week over a spate of life-threatening marine mammal entanglements in ocean garbage and fishing gear along the California coast.
The Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands has admitted eight California sea lions and Guadalupe fur seals since June 1 with entanglements of varying degrees.
The number of admissions is in line with previous years, according to the Marine Mammal Center, but veterinarians have been concerned by the severity of the entanglements, which can inflict deep lacerations and inhibit an animal’s ability to find food.
“It’s especially alarming to see these preventable entanglements in Guadalupe fur seals because this species is still recovering from the brink of extinction,” Marine Mammal Center medical director Dr. Cara Field said.
Guadalupe fur seals are some of the most common entanglement victims the Marine Mammal Center treats. A pair of entanglement studies from 2009 and 2017 found that roughly 25 percent of the Guadalupe fur seals admitted to the center between 2001 and 2015 were dealing with the effects of being tangled in ocean trash.
Two of the Guadalupe fur seals admitted to the center were recently released back into the wild in the Point Reyes National Seashore after spending roughly six weeks rehabilitating.
The center received the two pups from its partners at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City after they were found malnourished and tangled in fishing nets.
Not every animal the center rescues recovers, however. A yearling female California sea lion that was rescued in July had a monofilament fishing line wrapped around her head and through her mouth, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
X-rays of the sea lion’s head showed a severe lower jaw fracture and an infection due to the fishing line, which had made it difficult for her to eat for weeks. The center’s veterinarians made the hard decision to euthanize the sea lion due to her injuries.
Field said the demand grows every year for the center’s support for marine mammal rescue and entanglement response.
“Ocean trash knows no international boundaries so it’s critical as the world’s largest marine mammal hospital that we help support and build the network of response organizations dedicated to tackling the issue of ocean trash and the conservation of these important species,” she said.
photo: courtesy of the Marine Mammal Center
“The number of admissions is in line with previous years” seems pretty normal and nothing to be concerned about, other than need the large fishing vessels to bring up their trash not just dump and run.
Birds are also victims of entanglement. That’s why fishing is not allowed from some of the natural ponds/lakes in city parks. The hooks snag on something at the bottom of the pond and the person either cuts off or breaks the line which floats in the water. Birds diving for food get entangled in the lines and usually killed.
I wonder if this ocean trash is coming from the fishing industry on our West Coast, or is it is flowing with the Japanese current from the other side of the Pacific? Japan, China, and Russia have huge fishing industries in International waters.
I remember Russian trawlers bristling with electronics patrolling the West Coast during the Cold War.
It truly is heartbreaking that so many people do not care about our planet.
Most people are more concerned with shelter and food than the planet or other things that do not immediately translate to shelter and food. That’s why delivery drivers do not take the few extra seconds needed to ring your doorbell when they leave a package. Those seconds saved per delivery end up being extra pennies in their pocket and possibly retaining their job for one more day.
While commercial grade nets are expensive, if you are fishing and a net snags you immediately cut it loose and move on rather than spending hours or even days chasing down every piece of loose netting. Likewise, you use that netting until it’s beyond repair. You then shove it overboard rather than taking time and money to dispose of it in a way that causes the least harm to the environment.
The Marxist Democrats don’t give a damn about the environment and only use it as a vehicle to peddle their systemic racism narrative
black, black, black …poor underserved black people etc blah, blah
Meanwhile the Northern Sierra is being clear cut way beyond what would be needed for clearing dead and burned trees – look at a satellite view
Is the lumber being sent to China?
What about our recycling technology
They are now telling us to basically throw away just about everything because they are too lazy to wash it themselves
You seem to turn every story, no matter if it’s happy, sad, or purely informative, into an angry, hate-filled rant. I am genuinely concerned that you a) have so much hate in your heart and b) feel the need to project that hate for all to witness. I don’t mean to shame you, but you would greatly benefit from speaking with a therapist so they can help you find the source of all this anger and how to quell it so you may live a happier, more fulfilling life.
Thanks for your opinion but you don’t know me and can’t assign any motive to my posts
I invite you to open google or Apple map and zoom in to the northern Sierra and let us know what you see
I usually post to try to inform others of cultural Marxism in government and media btw
…and the people who staged this picture should be arrested and prosecuted for animal cruelty.
I agree, looks setup.
Yes totally staged just like the straw in the turtle’s nose .
It looks like someone dressed this seal for a photo-op. Seal looks wet, netting looks dry.
Kind of reminds me of Flipper wearing a hula dress way back when.
We have ruined planet earth and continue to ruin it!!!!!! 😭😭😭
If this is real. Instead of taking a damn picture they should be cutting off the net from this poor creature.