An image of a seal pup tangled in a fishing net has been released in a bid to help recruit volunteers to clean up St Andrews’ beaches.
The photograph shows the young mammal stranded on rocks with rope from a fishing net round its neck.
Surfers Against Sewage hopes it will spur people into helping clear debris from the East and West Sands and aid research into the problem of “ghost” fishing gear.
Grey and common seals are a common sight on the north-east Fife coastline and hundreds of the mammals come ashore at sandbanks at the mouth of the Eden Estuary and further north at Tentsmuir Point.
St Andrews is among 10 Scottish locations which will be targeted by the surfers’ charity in a joint mission with the Crown Estate and World Animal Protection.
The seal pup in the photograph, taken in New Zealand, was rescued by rangers and swam away with only a few abrasions.
According to the SAS, though, entanglement in ghost fishing gear lost or abandoned nets, ropes, pots and hooks kills at least 136,000 seals, sea lions and large whales globally every year. It is impossible to estimate the number of birds, turtles, fish and other species which meet the same fate.
The beach cleans will see found ghost fishing gear recorded, with the information used by the Sea Change campaign to try to save one million marine animals by 2018.
Alyx Elliot, campaign manager at World Animal Protection, said: “Our Sea Change campaign aims to protect the some 8,000 marine species in UK waters from the devastating impact of ghost fishing gear.
“We hope the beach cleans will give people a chance to find out more about this largely unknown issue haunting our oceans and help monitor the scale of the problem.”
Volunteers are needed at West Sands on Saturday October 18 from noon to 4pm and East Sands on Sunday October 19 from 1 to 4pm.