Seals almost always bolt straight for the safety of the water when we approach, but this entangled seal made our job so much easier by running inland instead! Thanks to its direction choice, Hawain was able to quickly net him and cut away a tight strip of plastic cling wrap before he could reach the surf. If only every rescue went this smoothly, it would save us from causing panic in the rest of the colony, and allow us to rescue even more animals every day.

A tangled bundle of hand fishing line like this doesn't end up in the ocean by accident. It gets thrown overboard. When fishermen end up with a tangled mass of monofilament line on deck, cutting it off and tossing the entire mess into the sea might feel like the quickest fix, but it is completely unacceptable. Unlike gear lost to heavy swells or snags, discarding a nest of line is pure, avoidable negligence. Monofilament fishing line takes centuries to break down, remaining a floating death trap for curious seals who swim right into it. A few seconds of care on a boat to secure and dispose of waste properly on land would completely prevent severe injuries and save innocent marine lives.

This is a perfect example of how plastic pollution completely disrupts natural selection. This seal is clearly one of the strongest in the colony. He is a powerful bull who has fought and overcome countless battles to reach the top. But against a few grams of fishing line, even the strongest marine animals are entirely defenseless. He cannot free himself and would be doomed to a slow, painful death as he grows and the line cuts deeper into his neck. No matter how strong an alpha male is, plastic pollution does not discriminate. It kills anything in its path. https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳

A bit of early morning confusion and harsh glare in the rising sun led to a proper mix-up: Damian accidentally netted the wrong seal! Fortunately, another team member was positioned close by and stepped in immediately to catch the entangled pup. At the end of the day, as long as the line is cut and the seal is freed, it doesn't matter who makes the catch; we all share the exact same mission. We feel a little bad for the healthy seal who got a brief scare for nothing, but it was a quick, harmless mishap on the way to a successful rescue!

Plastic packing straps remain one of the most common entanglements we find in the ocean. While lost fishing gear can be attributed to accidents during fishing, packing straps should never touch the water in the first place. They need to be cut immediately upon removal from bait boxes. This isn't accidental loss, it is direct, preventable ocean littering. Better care and attention on vessels wouldn't affect the catch size, but it would save countless marine animals from a slow, painful struggle. https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳

We haven't seen a gill net entanglement in a while, but we shouldn't be seeing any of them. Gill nets are strictly illegal in Namibian waters, but we keep finding them far too often for this to be a singular mistake. Where is this illegal gill net fishing taking place? Gill nets are vertical walls of netting.They allow a fish's head to slip through the mesh while trapping its gills when it tries to back out. It is a horrific way to die, whether you are the intended target or innocent bycatch, which is why these nets are outlawed nearly everywhere. Yet, people still put them in the ocean. Thank you for watching and helping us raise awareness to end this practice! https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳

Antoine - we still don't know how you managed to spot this thin plastic strap on a pup's neck from so far away! Huge respect for sprinting across the sharp, jagged rocks to perform a split-second rescue. Out here, there isn't always time to signal the rest of the team and you never know if you'll ever get a second chance to save that animal again. In just a few quick seconds, Antoine cut the entanglement free and gave this little pup its life back. Well done team, another packing strap out of our oceans! https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳

We all know those thin plastic mesh nets used at the supermarket for fruits and vegetables. They’re convenient, cheap, and lightweight, but they’ve created a massive pollution crisis. Most are single-use, tossed out after just one trip home. Today, we spotted a seal tangled in one of these exact produce bags. While eco-friendly reusable bags have been introduced, single-use plastic mesh remains everywhere because of weak laws and sheer corporate convenience. What ever happened to simple paper bags? Until strict bans are put in place, these frivolous plastics will keep ending up in our oceans. We’re on the beach doing our best to save the animals paying the price, but our rescues are just covering a tiny part of the ocean. https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳

Hook entanglements are painfully brutal to watch. While they might not always cut off air as quickly as a tight plastic line, the constant agony they inflict is immediate and relatable. Imagine the excruciating pain every single time that hook shifts, whether the seal tries to swim, dive for food, or simply interact with the colony. Eventually, the infection and inability to eat can cost them their life. Because fishing hooks are cheap and easy to replace, many anglers barely give it a second thought when a line snaps or is cut loose. But for marine life, that lost hook is a life-threatening sentence, even if the hook was meant for something else. https://www.youtube.com/@OCNSealRescueShorts 💳