Efforts underway to free hundreds of sea lions trapped in B.C.

The Vancouver Aquarium’s efforts to rescue marine animals trapped in fishing gear continued this week with a success story in Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island.

Scientists from the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre were able to disentangle a sea lion Thursday and say it is recovering well.

Staff have been travelling to the area as part of their ongoing efforts to disentangle hundreds of trapped sea lions in B.C.

GALLERY: Sea lion rescue in B.C. 

One of the sea lions, Kiyo, has had fishing line wrapped twice around its neck since at least February. Staff have returned to Fanny Bay several times, but haven’t been able to locate Kiyo.

With hundreds of sea lions in similar situations, staff want to help as many as they can.

The Vancouver Aquarium says disentangling sea lions isn’t easy and they are working on coming up with ways to prevent this from happening in the future.

Preventing garbage from accumulating on the coast and participating in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup are ways the public can prevent hurting marine life.

“I think that’s really where a lot of effort needs to go. We’re going to have the most success just trying to prevent that garbage from entering the waterways and entering the ocean and preventing animals from even coming into contact with it. That’s the biggest bang for the buck quite honestly,” said veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena.

Members of the public are being told not to try and disentangle marine mammals themselves.

“Concerned citizens who are calling in about marine animals in distress are taking the right steps,” Haulena said. “It’s important that people do not try to handle them. Improper removal of entangled gear may make the injury worse as vital structures, such as veins, arteries and nerves lie in close proximity to the entanglements.”