another seal in sooke

[juandesooka]

Saw this report in the paper today...thought you'd all be glad to know there's another seal out there in Sooke, in case you were worried about the health of the local population.

Funny how fishermen don't see them as quite so cute...



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A female Northern elephant seal rescued from Esquimalt by staff at the Vancouver Aquarium has been re-released into the ocean near Sooke.

Staff from the Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre travelled to Vancouver Island to release Cow, who was rescued on April 6 after being found stranded on Rainbow Beach.

The seal was diagnosed with skin disease and prescribed antibiotics.

After more than six weeks of rehabilitation, Cow began to eat on her own and had gained weight. Her ulcers were also healed and her hair had grown back.

“Once Cow made her way independently from the beach into the water, she began to swim right away,†said Lindsaye Akhurst, a co-ordinator at the rescue centre.

“Her head popped out of the water as she swam, and this is maybe the last time we’ll ever see her again.â€

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http://fishingportrenfrew.ca
http://fishingsooke.ca

 

[twinwinds]

Bullet would have been cheaper!

 

[flydon]

Would have been great if a transient pod orca had eaten the damn thing as everyone watched![}][}]
Don

 

[Last Chance]

We nead some of those hungry "peanut head" whales up here to thin the sea lion herd.

Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com
www.swiftsurebank.com

 

[Salmon Smoker]

Can't we just charter a plane and bring in some seal hunters from the east coast....or some eskimos?

 

[walleyes]

quote:Originally posted by Stevil

"A northern elephant seal" is far from the salmon stealing harbour seals that cause fisherman so much grief.

It was hunted to near extinction in the 1900's (100 left worldwide in 1910), causing a reduced gene pool making them at risk for genetics based disease.


They have been recorded to dive to 1600+ meters for lengths of 2 hours. They come to coastal areas once a year to molt and the rest of their existence is spent between 5000 and 8000 kms OFFSHORE, so consider yourself lucky should you get the opportunity to even see one.

They are NOCTURNAL feeders, obtaining food at depths between 300 and 800 METERS. So unless your fishing at night 6,000 kilometers offshore, playing a salmon in 900 to 2400 feet of water it will not rob you of a fish.


To reply that "a bullet would have been cheaper" or to take delight in seeing a killer whale eat it is ignorant.

Not ignorant at all stevil,, he was just being acurate is all. It is fact that a bullet would of been cheaper and hey Killer whales have to eat to you know.

 

[beemer]

oh great the seal issue again! Save the salmon , but shoot everything else!

 

[Tips Up]

quote:Yes a bullet may be cheaper... pitch that idea to Gordon Campbell and we'll solve all of the homelessness, healthcare and senior care issues in the province. Just pray you don't get sick.

You could get in a lot of trouble for shooting Gord Campbell.

Tips

 

[fishspoon]

and criminal pictures would end up on coffee mugs or t-shirts.

 

[flydon]

He just neglected the fact that there are now 150,00 in existence, approx the same number as there was before they were hunted to "nearly extinction" The Orcas are in worse shape numerically, so bring on the transients
My.02
Don

 

[profisher]

Reality check guys. Yes they are frustrating and I get pissed too. But I always think of a Raeside cartoon that tells a more acurate story. A commercial boat is coming in to offload. The skipper is leaning out the wheelhouse window. There are fish stacked on deck, fish tails sticking out of every crevice and the boat has only inches of free board. A seal with his head above water and with a salmon in his mouth is watching the boat go by him. The skipper yells out...you blinking seals killing all blinking salmon. The seal has a WTF did I do look on his face....lol This is a lot closer to the truth!

 

[tubber]

quote:Originally posted by profisher

But I always think of a Raeside cartoon that tells a more acurate story. A commercial boat is coming in to offload. The skipper is leaning out the wheelhouse window. There are fish stacked on deck, fish tails sticking out of every crevice and the boat has only inches of free board. A seal with his head above water and with a salmon in his mouth is watching the boat go by him. The skipper yells out...you blinking seals killing all blinking salmon. The seal has a WTF did I do look on his face....lol This is a lot closer to the truth!

Please! The last commercial boat I am aware of to get a full load of salmon was in 1993. They have hardly had enough openings to do much more damage since then. Everyone knows that all fishery related problems are caused entirely by fish farms. Seals, deforestation, ROR projects, mismanagement, poorly funded hatcheries, commercials, sportfishers, and natives may share some of the blame, but my prefernce is to dump on fish farms.
Elephant Seals as this one is, are infrequent in our waters, and are magnificent creatures, especially the males. They are not the ones stealing salmon off hooks like harbour seals and sea lions as far as I have heard.

 

[profisher]

You misunderstood the story..I think it was intended to be humans in general. The commercial boat just represented the best way to put a picture in the mind.

 

[profisher]

If you could ask the seal his opinion...human fish farms, human native river nets, human sport fishers, human commercial fishers, human loggers, human polluters that was why the WTF look struck me funny! He is just trying to stay alive another day. Still don't like the buggers but they have there place too. We need to get our sh?t together before we knock them to hard.

 

[flydon]

Just came across this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xmqbNsRSk
Don

 

[profisher]

Think we have a problem, take a look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjWQNwv-GJ4