Sea Lion Continues to Thwart Rescuers

An injured California sea lion with part of a gill net cutting into its neck on Monday eluded yet another attempt at rescue--the third unsuccessful attempt in less than a week.

Rescuers said they plan to try again in several days.

“We’re disappointed, but we’re not giving up,” said Judi Jones, director of Friends of the Sea Lion, a Laguna Beach group that specializes in helping injured sea lions.

Rescuers suspended the effort Monday after waiting almost three hours for the young sea lion--dubbed Gilly because of the monofilament plastic stuck around its neck--to return to a bait platform a quarter of a mile off the Malibu Pier.

Two members of the group, and two county animal control officers, briefly got close to the 150-pound mammal on the platform, but when a small airplane flew low overhead, the sea lion slipped into the water and did not return.

A sport fisherman first spotted the sea lion two weeks ago on the platform, where anchovies used as fishing bait are stored. Afterward, local fishermen tried to get animal control and fish and game officials to initiate a rescue mission.

Rescuers say the sea lion will die if it is not captured and the gill net removed. Gill net fishing near shore is illegal in Santa Monica Bay from Malibu Point to Palos Verdes Point, but fish and game officials say that the nets are used farther north by fishermen seeking halibut in the waters off Point Dume.