DARTMOUTH’S marine wildlife is under threat from abuse and mistreatment – with jet skiers reportedly chasing dolphins and people distressing seals by taking selfies with them to post on social media.

Alan Hemsley, owner and skipper of African Queen, and Sarah Greenslade, of The Seal Project charity, have spoken of their horror witnessing wildlife being abused and harassed around Dartmouth. They’re calling for urgent reporting of such incidents to protect the marine mammals.

Alan said: “I get so angry at times. While out on wildlife watches we’ve seen dolphins being chased by jet skiers and kayakers and paddleboarders preventing seals from resting on the rocks. Recently, we witnessed one of a group of three jet skiers accelerate and hit a dolphin, cheering with his arm in the air like it was a game. We need urgent web cams for surveillance of this behaviour. I’ll put my own money forward for a camera to try to protect the wildlife.”

Sarah added: “Water users like kayakers used to be trained and respectful of the animals around our coastline. Now you can get a kayak at Lidl for £50, and numerous places are hiring kayaks and jet skis, it’s a free for all out there and the animals are getting distressed at some awful ignorant behaviours.

“The wildlife is suffering because of people’s behaviour, especially the seals and dolphins, and the seabirds too. People are almost on top of seals with their mobile phones taking selfies and sitting on the rocks where they need to rest. Last weekend there were three people on rocks who chased a group of seals into the water. Rest out of water is so important for a seal and they need access to the rocks and not to be disturbed. Being constantly disturbed, when they’re trying to rest and recuperate, is like being woken at night every 20 minutes. People need to be quiet and keep their distance from them – not get close-up selfies for social media hits.”

Sarah said adult females are pregnant at this time of year and need even more time out of the water to rest.

She added: “Seals aren’t rock climbers – if they can’t get back in the water because people are in the way they panic and can easily break claws and limbs and even die. If a seal makes a big crash dive into the water it means they’re distressed.

“Locals have tended to know where the seals hang out and leave them alone or stay at a distance. In the old days it was more difficult to buy and hire jet skis and kayaks and get into the shallow water around the seals. Now it’s very accessible – people can pick up a cheap kayak or paddleboard at Lidl now, and social media is constantly encouraging people to put up selfie photos with wildlife. If a seal is looking at someone they are distressed – they are not being ‘cute’ and posing for social media, they have activated their fight or flight response and are stressed.

“We have the largest colony of grey seals just outside of Dartmouth Harbour and the area is famous for these creatures. There are more African elephants than grey seals and we’re trying so hard to protect them. As a charity we visit schools and educate people about how to behave around seals – keep your distance; don’t get in their way; if they’re looking or starting to move away from people they’ve gone into stress mode so back off quietly; and never ever push or throw them into the water, which reportedly people have done around Dartmouth.

Alan, who has been skippering boats from Dartmouth for 23 years, said he’s noticed a huge change in behaviour towards the wildlife building up over the last few years.

He said: “A lot of the behaviour – like taking selfies close up with seals - is ignorance and lack of education about how to behave around the sea creatures. Companies like mine are WiSe accredited to conduct our trips in safe and secure ways, at a respectable distance from animals to avoid disturbing their natural behaviour. This situation needs monitoring and people need to be educated on how to conduct themselves around marine wildlife.

“We need some tools to stop this and educate people on the correct way to conduct themselves around marine animals. There are loads more jet skiers, kayakers and paddleboarders out there getting in the way of the wildlife. We need to raise awareness, take more action and urge people to report any incidents they witness.

“If people take photos then the culprits can possibly be identified. Jet skis have numbers on them, although they can be hard to read, and they could be traced back to the hire firms around Torbay.”

Alan and Sarah said they are working with the authorities to try to stop this behaviour. They urge anyone with any evidence to report incidences to the police via email, copying in the Dartmouth and Torbay Harbour Authorities and the MMO – the Government’s Marine Management Organisation.