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Venice Florida Jetties pelican landing on water
www.portraitphotographybyjennifercarroll.com
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The
Dangers of Fishing Line on Seabirds
Question: What happens when you hook a seabird and cut the
line?
Answer: You kill
the bird!
If you spend any time fishing especially in salt water, you
will catch a seabird. They will go after your bait, get tangled in your line
and even take the fish at the end of your line. What to do? Read on.
The dangers of fishing line are numerous. If a bird gets
tangled and you cut the line, the bird can get the line wrapped around its
wings, legs, neck and beak. This can prevent the bird form flying, swimming and
eating. The end result, death by starvation. If it’s a nesting bird the line
can get wrapped around the chicks and kill them as well.
Line and lures left in coastal trees, on bridges and
fishing piers are lethal as well. A bird can’t see the line when it comes in
for a landing and ends up getting tangled and hanging from the end of a line
cut by a careless person. A lure left hanging off a mangrove branch may look
like an easy lunch for a hungry bird, that is until the treble hooks sink into
its bill. Then the bird is trapped against a tree limb until it dies or an
ethical fisherman takes the time to free it. Now as someone who has fished for
50+ years I understand that not every piece of line or lure is retrievable. In
this case cut the line as close as you can to minimize any risk.
If you’re fishing off a bridge or pier and you come across
someone’s old line, pick it up and find the nearest used fishing line container
or trash can, if there are none available then roll it up and put it in your
tacklebox until you get home. Wildlife safety is every sportsmen’s
responsibility
The most common birds that get caught are pelicans, seagulls
and ducks. So, what do you do if you find you have one of these birds on the
end of your line? The first thing is to NEVER cut the line! Reel in the bird
and ask for help. Hold the bird firmly, taking care not to injure his wings or
legs and assess the situation. Next cut the line off the fishing rod, if the
bird is tangled carefully cut the line away from the bird and dispose of
properly. If the bird is hooked don’t remove the hook like you would from a
fish, remove it like you would from a child, if the barb is into the birds
body, cautiously push the barb the rest of the way through the skin, cut the
hook in two using the pliers from your tackle box and back out the rest of the
hook. Every tackle box should have at least one pair of pliers.
Inspect the bird for any injuries to its wings, legs or
body, if there are no injuries then release the bird. If the bird does have
obvious injuries call your local state game warden service, they will know
where to take the injured bird.
Most times it will be another angler that catches a bird
and has no idea what to do. If you witness this offer help but always tell him
not to cut the line. Most of the birds I have helped free from hooks or line
have been on other peoples’ rods. Sometimes people panic and cut the line
because they are afraid of how the bird could hurt them. Seagulls, pelicans and
ducks are not going to hurt you. I have been hit on the head with a pelican
wing and bitten on the hand by a seagull, but all flew away free and I had a story
to tell. More care must be taken if you are dealing with a blue heron or a bird
of prey such as an osprey. Their beaks and talons can cut and puncture your
skin. The safest way to handle these birds is to cover their heads with a shirt
or towel, carefully free the bird and back away.
If you come across a bird in distress, if possible rescue
it. Remember its not just seabirds that can be injured by a careless fisherman
but also other animals like otters and raccoons.
As sportsmen, it is our responsibility to protect our
woods, water and wildlife. We can do this by teaching the next generation to be
good stewards of our environment by not feeding wild animals and birds, packing
out what they pack in and sometimes careless peoples’ trash as well, and to care
about what’s going on around our favorite fishing spot.
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| an unhooked pelican Baca Grande Florida |
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| safely released pelican flying free |
