The owner of a popular fishing lake has told how his business has been left devastated by a ravenous seal which so far has chomped its way through £3,000-worth of his stock.
Frustrated Nick North has been forced to shut his business to anglers for three weeks after the hungry seal moved in and started snacking on dozens of carp, bream and catfish.
The mammal has so far evaded two attempts to capture it and is also believed to be snacking on the local duck population.
The RSPCA, Essex Rural Police and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) have all been involved in attempts to capture the animal.
The grey seal, aged about one, was first spotted on December 6 swimming up the River Roach in Essex having likely come from the sea nine miles away.
It was then spotted in the frozen Marks Hall Fisheries lake in Rochford Reservoir, Essex, on December 12 and has been there ever since.
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Nick has had to close the lake for five consecutive weeks now after it froze over for the first two weeks of December.
He said: "It's ridiculous. It's ruining my business. The environmental agencies said they're not allowed to attempt to catch it anymore unless it has life-threatening injuries.
"It eating my fish doesn't come into it, apparently."
According to Nick, the seal has a cut on its head, tail, and a suspected blind eye but doesn't know when or where the injuries occurred.
Nick has leased the lake from Rochford District Council for 12 years and never found himself in this predicament.
He also suspects the animal has killed ducks, after finding five dead birds around the lake since its arrival.
The resident ducks have all moved to the river and haven't been seen on the lake since.
According to Nick, the creature crawled over the 10-metre bank between the lake and the river Roach.
It then went onto the frozen lake and fell through the ice on its way to the island in the middle.
What may have started as an accident that temporarily trapped the animal has ended up in a well-fed seal that is very reluctant to leave its newfound treasure trove of fish.
Nick estimates he is likely to have lost between £2,000 to £3,000 in fish and over £500 in day tickets to the lake.
Based on what it's been eating he is losing between £20-80 per fish the seal eats.
Two rescue attempts involving various environmental agencies have so far failed over the last two weeks.
A video from January 5 shows the moment over a dozen people holding huge nets realise the animal had evaded them once again, as the seal's head comically pops up from behind them.
Nick holding the camera is heard saying: "Oh, *y hell!"
He said: "It could probably get out if it wanted to but it won't go. It's got never-ending food supplies.
"But it shouldn't be here, this is fresh water, you've never seen a seal in a park lake or any lake really. It's not made for fresh water.
"Even though it's ruining my business t's still part of nature I suppose, just an unwanted part."
A spokesperson from BDLMR said: "We are currently the lead agency along dealing with a seal that has found its way into a fishing lake near Southend.
"Tranquilisers and electrofishing do not work on seals due to their insulating fat and risks to the fish population.
"We do want this animal to be relocated as much as the angling community do - it cannot exhibit normal "seal" behaviour on its own (they are social, colony animals) and all agencies involved appreciate the detrimental effect on the other species in the lake.
"Seals are capable of living healthily in freshwater, however it is obviously not a natural location for this one.
"We do have a further plan being discussed at the moment, including the fantastic team who manage the lake and would ask for the public's support in looking after this animal until such time as a resolution can be reached."
