Early on Monday morning, Nguyen Van Xu from Da Nang’s Thanh Khe District discovered a seal caught in his net whilst he was drawing in a small square fishing-net in waters 500m off Nguyen Tat Thanh Street.

The animal weighed about 30kg and had small black spots on its smooth skin, plus sharp claws on its feet.  This was the first time that the local fisherman had seen such a creature.

The 30kg seal

Cadres from the municipal Fisheries Department and local border guards encouraged Mr Xu to release the seal back into the sea at 8 am on the same day.

The city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is being asked to reward fisherman Xu for his meaningful gesture towards protecting maritime resources.