Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it's possible a dead harbour seal that was found earlier this week on East Beach in White Rock was shot.

"A local resident called in that a harbour seal that was fairly fresh and had blood coming out of the nose and mouth area," said Pacific Marine Mammal Coordinator Paul Cottrell.

"It had, basically a plastic white garbage bag that was wrapped around the neck fairly tightly."

It's unclear if the bag played a role in the seal's death.

The mammal is being kept in a freezer in White Rock until a necropsy can be done.

"Our marine mammal pathology expert is currently on the East Coast doing necropsies there, so we'll wait for next week to see what happened to this harbour seal," Cottrell said.

"We're planning on doing a necropsy next week on the animal because there are indications, not only of the plastic bag around the neck, but of a potential gunshot wound to the head area."

Cottrell says if the seal was shot, it's possible charges could be laid.

"Unfortunately, we still see harbour seals and sea lions wash up sometimes with bullet wounds and it's definitely something we keep track of," he said.

"It's illegal to shoot harbour seals and sea lions unless you're authorized through a communal First Nation harvest."

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-465-4336.