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A team from the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre has rescued a Steller sea lion that was found entangled in nylon rope near Hornby Island.

The rope was so deeply embedded in the 260-kg female’s neck that she likely would have died because of it, said Dr. Martin Haulena, the aquarium’s head veterinarian.

WARNING: The photo below may be disturbing to some viewers. Use the slider to reveal the image (Credit: Ocean Wise)

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In order to pull off the rescue, the team — which was supported by vessels from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) — had to shoot the sea lion with a sedative.

The crew then worked from a boat, leaving the injured animal in the water and grabbing hold of her with an instrument before pulling the plastic line out by hand.

READ MORE: Vancouver Aquarium saves entangled sea lion

For the tranquilizer, the team used a special drug cocktail specifically designed by Haulena over the past two decades.

He’s the only professionally trained veterinarian in Canada who’s able to disentangle sea lions, according to the aquarium.

A crew member displays the nylon rope removed from the seal lion\’s neck. Ocean Wise

The aquarium estimated the cost of a single disentanglement to be about $2,000. It claimed to have performed 20 of these operations.

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They could have had their 21st on Saturday.

The team spotted another young Steller entangled in a plastic strap and tried to tranquilize it as well. However, the animal was able to bite and remove the dart and escape before the drug took hold.

“Of course, we would like to have had two successful rescues today, or more than two — we know there are hundreds of animals entangled in trash and plastic on our coast, and unfortunately we just can’t get to all of them,” Haulena said in a statement.

A crew member attempts to tranquilize a sea lion caught in plastic. Ocean Wise

Steller sea lions are the largest of their species, and are considered endangered in some parts of Alaska.

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The nylon rope that was extracted will now be analyzed at the Ocean Wise Ocean Pollution Research laboratory, where a team will try to determine what kind of plastic it is made from.

Researchers are hoping to better understand where it comes from in order to try and urge producers and consumers to curb its use, the aquarium said.

“From debris that causes entanglement of marine mammals like these, to smaller plastics that get ingested by fish and animals at the bottom of the food chain, our single-use plastic waste is having a huge impact,” Haulena said. Tweet This

The rescue came as Ocean Wise kicks off its #BePlasticWise pledge campaign, which encourages consumers to be aware of how much single-use plastic they are consuming, and how it can end up in the environment.

READ MORE: Ocean Wise launches awareness campaign after microplastics found in Vancouver water samples

Anyone who sees an marine mammal in distress can contact the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at 604 258 SEAL (7325).