Seal stuck in Rochford lake munching its way through fish stock

A seal which has become trapped in a fishing lake probably has "no incentive to leave as he's found himself in a branch of Waitrose", an expert said.

The seal has evaded capture for almost a month after being spotted at Rochford Reservoir in Essex.

Attempts are continuing to safely rescue the seal, which appears to have minor injuries.

Marine rescuer Simon Dennis said it needed to be caught for its own welfare.

It is likely the seal made its way up the River Roach from the sea, Mr Dennis, a marine mammal medic and member of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), said.

"It will have wandered up an inlet and got itself stuck in the reservoir.

"But now it probably has no incentive to leave as its found itself in a branch of Waitrose and its munching its way through the fish."

The reservoir is owned by Rochford District Council but Nick North, of Marks Hall Fisheries, has been the licence holder for 11 years.

His staff are working with the council, BDMLR, the Environment Agency and Essex Police's wildlife team to rescue the seal.

Attempts last week failed as the seal was able to slip under a net, he said.

A fishing ban is in place on the lake, but that does not apply to the seal, which has been enjoying the contents since about 12 December.

Mr North said during his time running the lake, he had re-stocked it, and carried out extensive work to make it "one of the best park angling lakes for all types of anglers".

"To see all this lost due to a seal getting into a lake where it doesn't belong is ridiculous," he said.

"When I asked about the damage the seal was causing to my stock of fish, I was told that didn't come into consideration as the seals were a protected species and the fish weren't.

"This seal needs to be removed as soon as possible. Seals live in the sea, not freshwater lakes."

The BDLMR said various methods of capturing the seal had been suggested, including tranquilisers "which do not work well with [seals]" and could result in drowning.

"We do want this animal to be relocated as much as the angling community do - it cannot exhibit normal 'seal' behaviour on its own (they are social, colony animals) and all agencies involved do appreciate the detrimental effect on the other species in the lake," BDMLR said in a statement.

Mr Dennis said the seal appears to have slight injuries - possibly some fishing line caught on a flipper - and an eye injury.

However, it does appear to be feeding normally.

"It's a delicate balance of rescuing the seal for its own welfare, but not stressing it out," he said.

"We are liaising with other agencies trying to work out the next steps."

Rochford District Council's portfolio holder for the environment, Dave Sperring said: "We apologise for any inconvenience to fishers, but would ask all residents to keep their distance from the area for the safety of the seal and for themselves, and please keep your dog on a lead."

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