Annette, the harbour seal, rescued from netting around her neck in West Vancouver

VANCOUVER — A young harbour seal is recovering after being rescued from a life-threatening gillnet entanglement in West Vancouver.

Dr. Martin Haulena, the head veterinarian at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society, says the net had likely been digging into the seal’s neck for weeks or even months, leaving a gash that was one-to-two centimetres deep and getting deeper every day.

The pup is thought to have been born last summer and has been named Annette by her rescuers after she was spotted by a member of the public and saved last Thursday.

Haulena says the net did not affect the animal’s trachea, major blood vessels or esophagus, but that she had not been able to feed and was very thin, weighing about half what a healthy harbour seal should be at her age.

He says she was treated with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, disinfectants and painkillers and is improving.

Haulena expects her to stay in care for another four to six weeks, to continue improving, before she will be released back into the wild.

“She’s actually improving quite a bit, which they usually do once that injury or a source of the injury is removed,” he said.

“So she’s back to eating fish on her own and swimming quite actively. (She’s) still very thin, so seeking our heat lamps and that sort thing for the thermal regulation, but on the road to recovery for sure.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2026

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press