On Monday, April 7, 2025 Marine Mammals of Maine (MMoME) received a call to their 24/7 stranding hotline reporting an unusual stranding case. A frantic seal appeared stuck and thrashing in a mooring line off Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine. MMoME occasionally receives reports of entangled seals, though an entanglement of this nature is out of the ordinary. With only a short window before the tide would begin rising, a response was immediately initiated.
While en route, the MMoME team was in contact with Frank Orr, the Kennebunkport Harbormaster who brought his skiff to help access the seal. On arrival, the Kennebunkport Fire and Police Departments, and Maine Marine Patrol were also on scene to provide needed support. With the help of these partners, MMoME responders reached the seal and began to formulate an appropriate response. MMoME executive director, Lynda-Ada Doughty noted “our team is trained to be prepared for any situation at any time, anywhere within our response region of Kittery to Rockland, Maine. This situation is the perfect example of why it’s important to have an experienced, caring, authorized team to help at a moment’s notice.”
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The initial evaluation revealed that the entangled seal was a sub-adult harbor seal who was wrapped in both rope and chain from a mooring ball line from its rear flipper up through his lower abdomen. His frantic efforts to free himself had worsened the situation, tightening the wraps to the extent that he had to be brought on the boat to remove it. Working together, two MMoME staff who are experienced in safely handling seals, and the Harbormaster, who focused on maneuvering the boat and the gear, successfully disentangled the animal. Once disentangled, the seal’s rear flipper was observed to be clear of external open injuries, but was significantly swollen and required further examination. With the help of the shore-based team, the seal was transferred to the beach, kenneled, and then transported to MMoME’s rehabilitation facility in Brunswick for an exam with the organization’s veterinarian. “The success of this case is the result of our caring community and committed town officials coming together for the common goal of helping this seal. We could not have gotten the seal back out to the wild without their help and we are grateful for the dedication of our community, particularly as national funding to support this work is currently zeroed out” added Doughty.
The seal’s injuries were limited to soft tissue swelling from the constricting entanglement around his rear flipper and after 48 hours of monitoring and supportive care by the MMoME team the swelling improved, and he was swimming and moving normally in his pool. On Thursday, April 9, he was released back to the ocean with a non-invasive satellite tag to allow the team to monitor his post release movements and success.
MMoME intends to share more about data learned from the non-invasive tag in an upcoming video. To receive the updates sign up for the organization’s email list at mmome.org. The public is reminded to always report injured, entangled or deceased marine mammals to the Maine Stranding Hotline at 1-800-532-9551.
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All work conducted under a NOAA Fisheries stranding agreement.
