When angler Kai Barba took his boat out off the coast of Mackay in North Queensland, the last thing he was expecting to see was a seal.

“It was the weirdest and strangest thing,” he said.

Mr Barba was fishing near Hay Point, about 40 kilometres south of Mackay, when he received a phone call about something unusual in the waters.

“I had two mates originally ring me, Sleepy and Donny,” he said.

“Sleepy says to Donny, ‘Look at this big fish’, and Donny starts to have a look and he goes, ‘That’s a seal man’.”

Mr Barba quickly reeled in his line and met his friends so he could take in the sight for himself.

“It was weird watching it just swimming around all the structures here,” he said.

Seal far from home

Senior wildlife officer Jane Burns from the Department of Environment and Science said it was unusual to see a long-nosed fur seal venture so far north into Queensland waters, but not unprecedented.

The species is generally found along Australia’s southern coastlines, with sightings further north than Montague Island, on the Far South Coast of New South Wales, uncommon.

The sighting near Mackay means the seal has strayed more than 2,000km north of its usual habitat.

While the department has not relocated the seal at this stage, wildlife officers were called in to assist the animal when it got stuck on some rocks.

“We had to do a video link with Sea World to work out what’s the best way to approach these guys.

“We managed to get him out of those rocks and he made his way back down to the water.”

Ms Burns said the plan for now was to keep an eye on the coastal visitor, to ensure he enjoyed his holiday to the Sunshine State.

“It is a watch for him [as] it isn’t his natural area … if he looks like he needs our assistance, we’ll be out there again,” she said.