Two pelicans found entangled in fishing lines in South Australia’s south coast have been saved thanks to nearby kayakers and wildlife rescuers, prompting pleas to fishers to be responsible with their equipment.
WARNING: The story contains images that some readers may find distressing.
Key points:
- Two pelicans were found intertwined with fishing lines and hooks near the Murray Mouth
- They were freed and rescued by a kayak group walking past
- The birds are recovering well
Kayak guide Tom Colwell was on a tour with six people when they found the birds lying still on the sand on the Younghusband peninsula near the Murray Mouth on Wednesday evening.
Upon closer inspection, they found both animals still breathing but tied together in fishing lines, one with hooks in its beak.
“I didn’t think they were going to live,” Mr Colwell said.
“One of them had the line wrapped around its neck pretty tight.
“They weren’t making any noises, sort of being resigned to being stuck together.”
With the help of people on the tour, the Canoe the Coorong guide wrapped the birds in his rain jacket and a blanket, before paddling back to Sugars Beach where they met with wildlife rescuers.
“When I got to the boat ramp, I got a knife from my car to cut through the lines,” Mr Colwell said.
“I didn’t remove the hooks, I left that to the wildlife rescue, who were amazing.”
Wildlife Welfare Organisation SA team leader Justin Biddle said they removed the hooks and untangled the lines before bringing the pair — one male and one female — back to their rescue centre at Goolwa.
“There were multiple puncture wounds on the pouch, they had twisted beaks,” he said.
“They would have starved to death. One of them had tangled lines around the bill and pelicans breathe through their mouths so if that line was any tighter, they wouldn’t be able to breathe.”
Mr Biddle said a vet stitched up wounds on their wings and both birds, who they named Sugar and Spice based on where they were picked up, are on the road to recovery.
More reports of marine life entangled
Mr Biddle said one in five wildlife rescues his team has been in the past two months were related to fishing line entanglements.
“We’ve been getting call-outs to marine birds getting entangled in fishing lines, it’s becoming more and more prevalent coming into the summer,” he said.
“If you’re fishing, just be responsible with fishing lines and how to discard them or make sure to discard them in the fish tackle bin.
“If you happen to catch a bird, don’t just cut the line because the bird could fly off where we couldn’t find and it could die.”
He said if a bird was stuck with a fishing hook, people should gently contain the bird and contact wildlife rescuers to remove the hooks.
Mr Colwell said he believed the birds got into trouble when trying to eat a catch on the fishing hooks.
“We need to take responsibility for the environment and not leave behind fishing lines and rubbish because that does have an impact on the amazing wildlife,” he said.
In a statement, a spokesperson from the SA Department for Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) said while there was no formal requirement under the Fisheries Management Act for fishers to ensure all equipment is removed correctly, it encouraged them to do so.
“PIRSA would like to remind fishers any equipment or waste used in the course of fishing activities is removed from the water and disposed of appropriately following the completion of any fishing activity,” the spokesperson said.
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