The start of trout season in Pennsylvania is a good time to remind all anglers to please ensure that all fishing equipment is always disposed of properly after use. This is especially important when it comes to monofilament fishing line, which cripples and kills not only many thousands of birds every year, but many types of other wildlife, too. This is all preventable.
Improperly discarded or abandoned fishing tackle is a tremendous hazard to all types of birds. Recently there have been two high-profile incidents of fishing line endangering the famous bald eagles of Big Bear, CA – where a nest camera runs 24/7 and is viewed by tens of thousands of people each day. In the first case an American coot that had fishing line embedded in and tangled onto it was brought to the nest as food; while eating the coot, the eagle consumed some of the line but luckily was eventually able to regurgitate it. During the second incident the monofilament line was attached to a fish that was also brought to the nest, this time as food for the nestlings. The line became entangled around the mother eagle’s beak, but mercifully she was again ultimately able to dislodge it.
Unfortunately, many birds are not so lucky. Closer to home along the Tulpehocken Creek, two great horned owls were recently found entangled in fishing line; one was dead and the other so severely injured that it had to be humanely euthanized at a local wildlife rehabilitation center. A great blue heron died in a small fishing pond in Coventry Woods; it became entangled in abandoned monofilament line that had snagged on a log and was not retrieved by the angler. The bird could not take off, eventually falling into the pond and drowning. And while these are all examples of large birds, countless small birds die when their feet become entangled in loops of fishing line caught in tree branches or picked up off the ground for use as nesting materials. When woven into the nests of birds such as Baltimore orioles, the nestlings often become entangled in the unbreakable filaments and, unable to escape, the birds perish.
Fishing lures can also be deadly. Birds of all types can ingest lures that look like insects or fish, causing severe damage to the mouth and esophagus and horrendous internal injuries which almost always prove fatal. Hooks can also become imbedded in the beaks, feet, and wings of birds which are obviously painful, can impact eating and flying, and often become infected – all of which usually lead to death.
Fishing is a wonderful outdoor activity and most anglers are very responsible, but at most popular fishing spots discarded hooks, bobbers, weights, and lots of monofilament line can be seen in the trees, on downed branches in the water, and on the ground nearby. Accidental line breaks happen occasionally in fishing, and retrieving the lost fishing tackle is often difficult, but much that could be recovered is not. Using caution when casting near vegetation can greatly decrease the amount of fishing line and tackle left tangled in branches. If the tangled fishing line absolutely cannot be retrieved, please let someone know, such as staff if you are at a park, or a wildlife officer. And if you happen to spot birds or other wildlife that are tangled in fishing line or have lures or hooks embedded in them, please call the closest wildlife rehabilitation center and ask for instructions on what to do.
A few simple steps will help prevent countless incidents of suffering and death:
- If there is a fishing line disposal unit nearby, please use it.
- If there is not, please take your used fishing line home and discard it in a sealed container (it can still kill birds, especially gulls, that frequent landfills).
- If you see discarded fishing line, lures, hooks, and weights on the ground or in vegetation, please pick them up and discard them properly.
- If you cannot reach them, let someone know that they are there.
You are saving the lives of birds and other wildlife when you do.
Written by Patty Werth
