B.C. rescue teams free sea lion with plastic wrapped around neck
Published 12:51 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Less than two kilometres from the shores of Metchosin, a rescue team rallied together to help a California sea lion in need.
The approximately 280-kilogram adult male was first spotted Aug. 1 at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve with a plastic packing band wrapped around his neck.
As the entanglement posed a significant risk to his health, the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society (VAMMR) launched into action.
However, unsafe weather conditions delayed efforts.
After waiting two weeks for a safe weather window, a VAMMR team, with the help of a Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) drone, located the animal Aug. 17 through dense fog, before attempting rescue again.
Once sedated via a dart gun by head veterinarian and VAMMR executive director Martin Haulena – who is the only veterinarian in Canada, and one of a small number worldwide, qualified to perform this specialized procedure – the team was able to safely approach the animal and remove the packing band.
After it was successfully disentangled, the sea lion was fitted with identification tags and given medication to reverse the effects of the anesthetic. The VAMMR veterinary team then monitored the sea lion until it was alert and sitting upright, before leaving the area.
VAMMR said the rescue was made possible thanks to the help of DFO and Pearson College UWC’s Eco-Guardian program. Eva Crowley from the college’s Eco-Guardian program played a key role in the rescue by first reporting the animal and continuing to monitor and report his location.
The sea lion was sighted days later, on Aug. 19, looking alert on the shore of Race Rocks.
Unfortunately, this type of rescue is not uncommon for VAMMR.
Nearly 60 per cent of sea lion disentanglements conducted by its rescue team involve plastic packing bands. The society says the frequency highlights the serious threat seemingly small pieces of debris can pose to marine wildlife.
“What’s frustrating about these cases is that these injuries are preventable,” said Haulena in a news release. “Something as simple as a plastic packing band can cause significant injury to a sea lion.
“This is why reducing marine debris and reporting entangled animals quickly are so important.”
Other marine debris can also put wildlife at risk.
In late 2024, VAMMR came to the rescue of a severely entangled California sea lion at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. The adult male had a gillnet tightly wrapped around its muzzle, neck and inside its mouth, preventing it from eating and causing significant injury.
Anyone who encounters a marine mammal that appears sick, injured, or in distress should call Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Observe, Record, Report/Marine Mammal Incident Hotline at 1-800-465-4336 or VAMMR’s Marine Mammal Rescue Hotline at 604-258-SEAL (7325).