Common Seal Welfare and Marine Litter Entanglement

Common seals are increasingly affected by entanglement in discarded fishing gear and marine plastic, causing preventable welfare harm to individuals in UK and European waters.

Key Facts

UK grey and common seal entanglement reports have increased significantly with growth in offshore plastic and fishing gear accumulation
Entangled seals suffer from lacerations, infections, restricted movement and starvation — entanglement around the neck is most commonly fatal
Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) monitoring has detected entanglement in netting, rope and packing band materials
Disentanglement requires trained personnel and is high-risk for both animal and responder — prevention is the primary welfare strategy

Welfare Considerations

Marine litter entanglement imposes severe, prolonged welfare suffering on individual seals. Neck entanglement in gill nets or packing bands creates growing constriction injuries as the animal grows and the material cuts progressively deeper into tissue. Flipper entanglement impairs swimming and hunting ability, causing gradual starvation. The welfare harm from entanglement is entirely anthropogenic and preventable through better fishing gear management, ghost gear retrieval and plastics reduction. Individual disentanglement is high-risk and not always successful.

What You Can Do

Report entangled seals to BDMLR (British Divers Marine Life Rescue) — never attempt disentanglement without training
Support ghost gear retrieval programmes in seal habitat areas — the Global Ghost Gear Initiative coordinates UK removal efforts
Advocate for fishing gear marking and reporting requirements that improve ghost gear retrieval accountability
Reduce single-use plastic packaging disposal near marine environments — packing bands are a documented seal entanglement cause