On the windswept shores of Block Island, Rhode Island, danger often hides in plain sight — not in predators, but in plastic.
The Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue Team, based in Connecticut, has found itself responding to an alarming surge in seals entangled in fishing gear, balloon ribbons, and ocean garbage. So far this year, the team has recorded 20 entangled gray seals, already surpassing their annual average.
At the forefront of this effort is program manager Sarah Callan. Armed with binoculars and compassion, Callan and her team scan the shoreline, looking for the telltale signs of entanglement. Fishing lines and ropes don’t just snare seals — they cut into their thick necks as the animals grow, often leading to infection, injury, or death.
NBC News was recently granted rare access to witness one of these delicate rescues. The team, joined by partners from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and the Block Island Maritime Institute, used stealth and strategy. They army-crawled toward a group of seal pups sunning themselves, then burst forward with bright red boards to isolate the entangled pup. With precision, they scooped it up in a net, cut the tightening line, collected samples for research, and — most importantly — set the seal free.
“This is a win,” Callan said, smiling as the pup galumphed — the seals’ signature belly wiggle — back into the ocean. “The quicker we can get out here to disentangle them, the better.”
The emotional toll of their work is real. Earlier this year, the team rescued a stranded seal pup in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The public affectionately named him “Chappy.” He quickly became a social media darling — but Chappy didn’t make it. The team later found plastic inside his stomach, a painful reminder of what marine animals now face.
Each year, it’s estimated that over 100,000 marine mammals die from plastic pollution.
“The number of animals interacting with human-made debris within just months of being born is heartbreaking,” Callan said. “It shows us what the ocean is becoming.”
Despite the mounting challenges, Mystic’s team remains undeterred. Every seal they save is a second chance — and a message.
“Seeing them return to the sea,” Callan said, “it’s such a special moment. It reminds us why we do this.”