Enraged Seal

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 227, 26 September 1935, Page 10

Enraged Seal

FIGHT WITH SEAMAN EXCITEMENT ON A TKAWLEIt Deck-hands of the .Sydney fishing fleet often haul aboard strange catcher in the nets; but perhaps the rarest and most difficult catch-that ono of the trawlers had to contend with recently was an enraged seal and its offspring. Tho fleet, which was fishing off the northern coast of Tasmania, hauled the nets aboard to.empty them, and the seals fell to the deck, amid a cascade of fish. The men tried to handle the young seal, but the vicious luuges of the mother made them stop.

Pisli were scattered all across the deck as the older seal threshed about, enraged at the repeated failures of the younger one to leap tlio ship rail into the sea. Eventually tho baby sea] leaped the rail aud was immediately followed by its parent. Although the nets arc emptied every three hours, only on a few occasions are seals caught. Ouco a seal was taken aboard in a net aud fell down the hatch. Not for several hours were tho men able to secure it with a rope and hoist it to the deck, there to be thrown overboard.

Dock-liands say that small holes aro chewed iu tlie nets by seals in an effort to eat tho fish caught inside. Seals, however, do far less damage than sharks, w'ho tear gaping holes, enabling the fish, to escape.