West Briton 16 November 2006

By COLIN GREGORY
cgregory@c-dm.co.uk

The discovery of a stranded seal in Porthleven Harbour has sadly brought to an end the story of Canvey, an Atlantic grey with a history.

Following a call to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings hotline, volunteer Caroline Curtis was called to record the dead animal.

It was discovered that the brown tag on one of its hind flippers was of the old type used by the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek when they released rescued seals.

The tag belonged to Canvey, a male seal originally rescued in 1996 and released after rehabilitation at the seal sanctuary in 1997.

Sanctuary curator Dr Glenn Boyle said: "We receive numerous reports of seals after their release, but Canvey's survival for 10 years in the wild is the longest that we have on record and represents a real success for our rehabilitation efforts."

At a meeting of the Cornwall Seal Group, pictures taken of the seal at Porthleven were recognised immediately as a seal that was well-known to the group. Records revealed that this seal had visited a north coast haul out beach every year since 2000. His visits were always brief so it was thought that he was just passing through on his way elsewhere.

Canvey's story has raised many intriguing questions. Where had Canvey come from and where was he going? Where did he spend most of his year? He had clearly travelled between the north coast, where he was last seen in February, and Porthleven, where he was found dead. Was he a wanderer who might have been to France or was he a local Cornish seal that just cruised around our coasts?

Sue Sayer, of the Cornwall Seal Group, said: "We probably know more about Canvey now than most seals in the southwest but there are so many more facts about these animals yet to find out."

Ruth Williams, of the marine conservation team at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "Canvey's story underlines the excellent work and the partnership between the three organisations involved. With the help of the public who report their sightings to us, we can learn more about the lives of the marine creatures that live in and visit our Cornish seas."

Sightings of marine life, from seals to jellyfish, should be reported to Seaquest Southwest on 01872 273939.

Dead strandings should be reported to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's marine stranding hot-line on 0845 201 2626.