Baby seal found in garden pond
Let me ask all coarse anglers a question. "If you found a baby seal in your garden pond, would you name it Rudolf?"
That's exactly what happened to a family in Benenden, Kent. The tagged seal pup was released from a sanctuary in Ostend, Belgium, earlier in the year. Since then she has crossed the English Channel and travelled up the River Rother to end up in the garden pond.
Seals are invading our rivers in search of an easy meal. The existing coarse fish population has been decimated on some of the former river hotspots where seals have now taken up residence.
Otters are a well known and increasing problem to many fisheries. Only recently Northwich Anglers Association started a petition to stop a proposed "Otter Park" on the River Weaver. Seals, however, are a different proposition. Just like cormorants, they are another sea species making its way further inland to ravage stocks of coarse fish.
Anglers have told me of seals wantonly killing large pike and barbel on the Rivers Aire, Hull and Yorkshire Ouse with the most damning aspect being that they seem to enjoy the kill without then eating the catch. Whole fish are discarded and allowed to drift downstream like a macabre game of "Poohsticks".
- A simple internet search reveals inland seal sighting across the UK.
- River Hull
- Yorkshire Ouse
- River Neath
- River Adur
- River Great Ouse
Stories like this bring smiles to many faces, but there won't be many anglers smiling when they ruin the fishing on their favourite river. Let's hope that these are isolated incidents and that seals remain as nature intended, a sea species, and not a regular visitor to our inland waterways.
Andy Webster
