Rescuers Free Sea Lion Caught in Net, Treat Its Neck Wound

A young sea lion “who had been crying all day with two pieces of gill net around his body” was rescued by a volunteer team off Malibu Pier Wednesday night, a state legislator said.

Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress), who accompanied the rescuers, said the seal had a gaping hole in its neck that “had been bleeding all day where the net was caught.”

She said the sea lion is not the animal nicknamed Gilley that is also entangled in a gill net and frequently comes to the pier. Gilley has avoided would-be rescuers for about two months.

Peter Howorth, who headed the rescue team of four divers from the Marine Mammal Rescue Unit, said the sea lion “will probably survive, but it will take about four to six weeks to close the wound.” The animal will be taken to the rescue unit’s Santa Barbara facility to recover.