Sharp increase in seals entangled in nets, other sea pollution on Dutch shores

Seal center Pieterburen has already rescued 12 seals tangled in nets and other sea pollution on Dutch shores this year. That’s over three times as many as in the same period last year, the rescue center said.

The most recent rescue was on Vlieland on Thursday. On Tuesday, rescuers freed a young gray seal from a big net on Ameland. In all of last year, Pieterburen’s seal wardens only had to rescue 38 seals from entanglement in litter.

The biggest source of seal entanglements is fishing waste, Sander van Dijk of Pieterburen told RTL Nieuws. Last week, seal wardens freed a seal from a potato net. They’ve also encountered seals trapped in a balloon lint, T-shirt, and frisbee.

Gray seals are the most common victims. “Gray seals are more curious, inquisitive, and opportunistic,” Marco Boshoven of Pieterburen told the broadcaster. “If it thinks it sees prey, it goes after it at full speed.” They’re, therefore, more likely to end up trapped in a fishing net or the like.

The seal rescue center is very concerned about the increase in the number of seals needing help. “It shows how important it is to reduce sea pollution,” Pieterburen said on Facebook. Everyone can help, just by picking up and throwing away litter, you encounter during your beach walk.