Fishhooks, hundreds of shoes, 160 coffee sacks of rubbish, 48 tyres and 15 crayfish pots.
That is just some of the rubbish Lorraine Shaab and Noeline Angus have removed from a seal colony on the Wainuiomata Coast, near Wellington, New Zealand, during the past year.
It would be easy to be discouraged by the mountain of rubbish facing them but Shaab said the pair have a simple motivation.
“It is rewarding when you know there are all those seals out there.”
About 500 seals spend the winter at Turakirae Head and although she has not seen any entangled in the flotsam, she said it is only a matter of time before a seal suffers.
Plastic bottles and shoes are their most common find, but it is the rubbish from fishing boats, such as Buoys, ropes, fishing lines, nets and crayfish pots, that is the biggest threat to seals and other bird life, Shaab said.
Seafood NZ chief executive Jeremy Helson said the industry has “strict regulations around deliberate disposal of gear overboard” but conditions at sea sometimes means gear is lost.
“No fishing crew wants to see expensive equipment lost and will do what it can to avoid that. The seafood industry is involved in beach clean-ups all around New Zealand on a regular basis.”
The pair began cleaning up the area last year after going for a walk around the coast. Distressed by what they saw near the seal colony, they decided to do something about it.
Although people volunteer to help, Shaab saif they tend to get put off by the physical work.
“I will not lie, we scare everybody off because we spend a solid five hours there and it is hard work, and we are not spring chickens any more.” Angus is 70 but Shaab said she never stops working.
On their most recent trip they found a huge mooring rope, as well as a container of rusty fishhooks.
“Noelene found a massive mooring rope from a ship! Two of us just managed to lift it. We also found a huge fishing net. So it was super awesome to get that out the seal colony.”
As well as rubbish from New Zealand fishing boats, they also find flotsam that has come from Asia.
The pair collected too much rubbish to carry out on the four-wheel drive track, so they have left it bagged to carry out.
The crayfish pots are given to the local farmer, to be returned to their owner.
Although they do it for love, Shaab said the seals do not always appreciate their presence.
“They bark like a dog, and you have to be reasonably cautious around them.”
According to the Department of Conservation, 500 New Zealand fur seals stay at Turakirae Head each winter.
The colony mainly comprises juvenile males, which spend their time building up condition before moving to breeding colonies in other areas.
During the breeding season they will not eat for three months or more, living off the fat reserves built up over winter.
The colony began in 1950 and has steadily increased since then to become the largest on the south Wellington coast.
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