Federal workers dispatched to a small town to remove 40 seals stranded in the community aren’t doing the job on their own.

Roddickton, N.L., Mayor Sheila Fitzgerald says the town’s residents have been more than eager to help Fisheries and Oceans Canada personnel by simply standing around.

“Locals have been very, very helpful in terms of helping the DFO capture the seals,” Fitzgerald told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.

Because the seals don’t want to be around humans, anyone blocking their path can send them scurrying away – potentially into the path of trained workers with a net.

“They’re cradling the net over the seals and then scooping them up, pulling the two poles together and then tying the poles,” Fitzgerald said.

“It’s the most humane way, so the seal doesn’t get hurt and we can happily return them back to the ocean.”

In addition to being safe for the seals, the net method is safer for humans as well, because it avoids direct contact.

“[The seals] have sharp teeth. We’ve been warning the public ‘It’s very important that you stay away from these animals,’” Fitzgerald said.

Approximately 40 harp seals have been scampering through Roddickton for more than a week. They arrived in town disoriented, likely as part of a wayward attempt to find their way back to open water after a nearby inlet froze over.

Eight of the seals had been rescued as of Monday morning. Once captured in the nets, the seals are driven 20 kilometres to the coastal community of Englee, N.L., and released into the Atlantic Ocean.

Two seals have been struck and killed by vehicles since the pod arrived in Roddickton. Fitzgerald said drivers were being “very, very cautious” because the seals’ mostly grey complexion can resemble a snowy road which has been treated with salt.

“When these little seals get on the road, they actually blend in with the road, making it very hard for motorists to see where they are,” she said.

Roddickton typically receives two or three seal visitors per year, Fitzgerald said, but this year’s influx has been far larger than any she has seen in her more than 25 years in the community.

“It’s been phenomenal, the response that these seals have gotten as a result of coming to our town,” she said.

“They’ve caught the attention and the hearts of people everywhere.”