A SEAL stuck in a lake in Essex is eating all the fish and has ‘no incentive to leave’, much to the dismay of local anglers. The animal was spotted in Rochford Reservoir in December, but efforts to safely rescue it have failed, with the seal slipping under a net in the most recent attempt last week.
Simon Dennis, a marine medic and member of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), described the seal in The Guardian as having ‘found itself in a branch of Waitrose and munching its way through the fish’.
Nick North, who runs the fishing reservoir, described the lake as ‘one of the best park angling lakes for all types of anglers’ and bemoaned the presence of the seal. ‘To see all this lost due to a seal getting into a lake where it doesn’t belong is ridiculous,’ he asserted. ‘When I asked about the damage the seal was causing to my stock of fish, I was told that didn’t come into consideration because seals are a protected species and fish aren’t. Seals live in the sea, not freshwater lakes.’
The BDMLR agrees and is increasingly concerned about the seal’s welfare, as it cannot partake in regular seal behaviour on its own and there are indications that it has suffered some injury to an eye and flipper. The team continues to explore various methods to capture the seal without causing distress. That being said, the circumstances don’t seem to have affected its appetite.
