Entangled pelicans freed by anglers and FWC officer on Homosassa River; How you can help a seabird

Homosassa, Florida - According to a Facebook post by Donald Bloch, a current winter resident of Homosassa, he and friends were assisted by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officer, Friday morning, Feb. 28, to rescue two pelicans who were entrapped in fishing line. Mr. Bloch was in the Homosassa River springs area with two friends when they came upon the two pelicans. As they were trying to catch the birds to free them, FWC officer Lt. John Jones pulled up beside his vessel and hopped aboard to assist them. Mr. Bloch lured the pelicans with a fish while Lt. Jones caught them with a fishing net, one at a time, and they untangled the pelicans, who immediately flew away!

CALL FOR HELP

FWC officers are trained on how to safely unhook a bird. The agency also has resources people can use if they find a bird that is injured, hooked or entangled. Please call for help and stay with the bird until help arrives. If a bird has swallowed a fishing hook, is entangled in any way, or is severely injured, contact help by using the FWC's Reporter app or Seabird Rehabilitators app (may be downloaded for free at Google Play or Apple Store for Apple and android phones and tablets) or at this website:
ocean.floridamarine.org/SeabirdRehabilitators/. The FWC also has a free Fish/Hunt FL app with helpful information.

The FWC' also has a Pelican Rescue brochure can be downloaded here: myfwc.com/media/6320/pelican-rescue-brochure.pdf.

HOW TO UNHOOK A BIRD
Visit myfwc.com/education/wildlife/unhook.

Don't Cut the Line! Reel - Remove - Release!

1. Enlist others for assistance if possible.
2. REEL the bird in slowly and evenly. Don’t try to shake the bird loose by jerking the line – it will inflict additional injury to the bird.
3. If fishing from a pier, make sure that the bird remains on the water until a net, such as a hoop net, can be used to lift it onto the pier. Birds reeled up onto piers can be seriously injured, or can potentially damage fishing equipment.
4. Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes. Take extra care to protect yourself when handling long-billed wading birds and hooked-billed cormorants.
5. Firmly grasp the bird’s head behind the eyes. Then fold the wings up gently but firmly against the bird’s body so that it can’t flap its wings, and hold the legs. Hold firmly but don’t strangle the bird. If it is a pelican, you can hold the beak but keep the beak slightly open so the bird can breathe.
6. Cover the bird’s head with a towel, hat, shirt, or other cloth. This will calm the bird and make it easier for you to remove the line and/or hook.
7. REMOVE the hook by cutting the barb and backing the hook out. If the barb is imbedded in the bird’s flesh, push the hook through until the barb emerges from the skin and then clip the barb.
8. If the bird is entangled in line, use scissors, clippers or a knife to gently cut the line. Place the cut line in a monofilament recycling bin, or cut the line into small pieces (less than than 3-inches long each) and place them in a lidded trashcan. Use scissors, clippers or a knife to gently cut the fishing line and remove hooks.
9. Carefully check the bird over for other hooks or line and remove them too.
10. If the bird is feisty, it is likely healthy enough to RELEASE. Point its head towards the water and step back while you release the bird. Let the bird take off on its own. Sometimes birds shake their feathers out, assess the situation, and then are ready to fly. Other times, they just take off. Either way, this represents a successful release.

HOW TO PREVENT SEABIRD ENTANGLEMENT
Visit myfwc.com/education/wildlife/unhook/protect-seabirds/.

Each year, monofilament fishing line and other fishing tackle enter into our coastal systems when anglers snag vegetation, marine debris, and coastal animals, including seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals. Monofilament and fishing tackle left in the marine environment create potential traps for unsuspecting wildlife that become entangled or snared, leading to injury and death. To reduce the risk of entangling seabirds and other coastal wildlife, follow these rules: Entangled birds carry line back to roosting and nesting sites, where it poses a threat to other birds in the area.

1. Please don’t feed pelicans and other seabirds. Feeding seabirds causes them to congregate in areas where they are more likely to get hooked or tangled in fishing line. Feeding pelicans is prohibited by law (F.A.C. 68A-4.001).
2. Discard fish carcasses in marked repositories or lidded trash cans. Birds will feed on carcasses tossed in the water, which can lead to injury or death. Fish carcasses often are larger than the bait fish that birds normally feed upon, and the larger bones and spines can puncture the bird’s throat or digestive tract. Birds attracted by fish carcasses may congregate in areas where they are more likely to become entangled in fishing line.
3. Cast away from birds and shoreline vegetation.
4. Collect and store loose monofilament line until it can be discarded properly.
5. Keep bait buckets covered.
6. Take unused bait home.
7. Let other anglers know how to prevent bird entanglement.