When a human raises a hand in the waves, it’s a signal for help. When a seal raises a flipper, it’s usually cooling down, but many people assume it’s in distress and ring ORRCA, as the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia is most commonly known.

“We get lots of calls about unusual seal behaviour and often they're just regulating their body temperature,” says ORRCA’s Wollongong Pod Leader, Lyndell Roberts.

“This happens a couple of times a day.

“We love those calls because nothing is better than giving someone the relief of explaining that that's normal behaviour.”

Helping marine wildlife

ORRCA works to conserve and protect whales, dolphins, seals and dugongs.

In the Illawarra, volunteers mostly deal with seals.

“Lots of seals,” Lyndell says. “We get long-nosed fur seals, they’re also known as New Zealand fur seals. We occasionally get visiting Australian fur seals, like the one at Towradgi a few weeks ago.”

Fishing gear is the main reason that seals get into trouble here, she says.

“We have two particular spots. Port Kembla break wall and Windang. And those seals interact with fishermen quite a bit, we think. We regularly get reports of seals being hooked by fishing gear in those two spots.”

ORRCA recently dealt with a report from a member of the public about a seal in trouble at the break wall. The seal had a fishhook in its face and was trying to remove it by rubbing its nose on the rocks.

“It actually successfully removed the hook, but it hurt itself,” Lyndell says, explaining that the seal was out of human reach, on rocks on the ocean side of the break wall.

“We monitor and observe, make sure it's healing, that's our role.”

While a lot of hooks and lures are still stainless steel (or plated), there are now ethical options made of materials designed to corrode over time, reducing waste and longterm harm to wildlife. However, this only works if fishers are using biodegradable gear. “The hooks look terrible, and they're not great. They must be very uncomfortable, but if it's the right sort of hook they'll rust out.”

Fishing line is another story.

“It's one of our biggest problems,” Lyndell says. “If the fishing line is around their flippers, it might inhibit them being able to fish and eat.”

In cases like this, volunteers will monitor the seal and, if it’s deteriorating, call NSW National Parks experts for help.

Path to volunteering

Lyndell discovered ORRCA after moving from Canberra to the Illawarra coast three years ago. “I was on the beach at Bellambi and there was a seal on the rocks and no one was looking after it – off-lead dogs were trying to get to the poor seal.

“Soon after that there was another seal up at Bulli, and there was an ORRCA member there, educating the public and doing some crowd control. So I thought, if I’m going to live in this area, I really want to be able to contribute to that and support those seals.”

Seals often come into shore for a rest in the Illawarra.

“Often when we deal with a seal, it's hauled up onto a beach where there's a high chance of interaction with the public,” Lyndell says.

We do a lot of that work, making sure that they're able to rest, that the required 40-metre exclusion zones are set up. One of the biggest challenges is off-lead dogs.”

Lyndell enjoys the public education side of the call-outs. “The kids are fascinated and you can give them all this information about the seals and where it might have come from. Our seals often haul out when we've got really rough seas, they haul up for a day or two to rest.”

In 2024 ORRCA recorded 25 seal haul outs and six seal entanglements in our area. 

Seals also haul out after bites from small cookiecutter sharks, which take a distinct round chunk of flesh.

“It hurts them but it's not going to be long-term damage,” Lydnell says. “So if they've got a fresh one, sometimes they'll pop up and spend some time in an area while they're healing.

“We had one in Kiama last year who hung around the Kiama Blowhole and the point there for about three weeks. We checked on him two or three times a week. As long as we see it healing, we see it with wet fur, we know it's fishing and eating. And if we don't see it healing, then we can advocate for vets to come and do an assessment.”

Learn more

Look out for the Wollongong ORRCA crew at GreenFest in Corrimal on April 13 and at the Ocean Film Festival when it comes to UOW this Thursday, March 20.

ORRCA is a not-for-profit conservation charity. The organisation is entirely run by volunteers and relies heavily on the generosity of donations and dedication of rescue team members to continue their work.  Visit www.orrca.org.au.

To report a whale, dolphin, dugong or seal in trouble, call the 24-hour hotline on 02 9415 3333.