Another bird suffering because of a careless fisherman. Luckily we managed to catch and assist this bird but there are many more that are affected by this that are never seen or assisted. #cutyourfishingline #fishing
A common sighting around fishing areas. If you fish, please take your line with you when you leave, then cut into short pieces before disposing of it. This also applies to any form of string or twine that anyone throws away. Please see article below from The Star in 2008. Careless fishermen are killing Gauteng's water birds Date: 22 Dec 2008 An urban wildlife rehabilitation centre is appealing to fishermen across South Africa to halt the cruel injuries and deaths of thousands of water birds every year by properly disposing of their fishing gear. "Hundreds of geese, cormorants, herons, ducks and other indigenous water birds get entangled in fishing lines [every year] and swallow hooks," says Nicci Wright, the centre manager of FreeMe in Paulshof, north of Joburg. Since its inception 11 years ago, the centre has treated thousands of indigenous waterfowl, and Wright believes a campaign is urgently needed to sensitise fishermen who discard their fishing gut and hooks around dams, lakes and wetlands across the country. "It's a major problem for all our waterfowl and waders. We have the birds coming in caught in fishing line, or with hooks stuck in their bodies, or you find that a goose ingests a hook." The casualties, explains Wright, also typically ingest sinkers, mistaking them for shimmery fish, which can cause lead poisoning. "The fishing line often breaks in the water, or the birds go for the bait left on the hooks. These are all hazards for the birds." FreeMe encounters regular cases at popular recreational dams such as Emmarentia, Lonehill and Hartbeespoort. "It's also a problem at dams across the East Rand, but it's happening all over the country. Even at these eco-estates, you find that children go down to dams and rivers and leave their fishing gear there. They don't know any better. "The sad situation is that because the birds are still flying and swimming it's almost impossible to catch them. We're always trying to catch the birds, but don't often succeed. They eventually get thinner and weaker. Only when there is an infection and they're weak can we catch them, but by then it's often too late." Wright relates how the centre's volunteers have spent a month at the Lonehill Dam trying to catch an Egyptian goose whose leg is wrapped in fishing line. For Lonehill resident and FreeMe volunteer Trish Bolleurs, watching this Lonehill goose being slowly crippled is heartbreaking. "Weeks down the line, we still can't catch that bird. Eventually, what happens is that somebody's dog catches these birds because they are so weakened. It just gets worse. "Even if we do catch it, the line has stopped the blood circulation and that foot will fall off. It could get blood poisoning and get infected. Some of these birds are so badly entangled that it's easier to catch them because the fishing line or gut is around their wings or legs. Then you cut the line, treat the wound and release them. That's fantastic." Bolleurs laments the ignorance of many fisherman: "People don't realise the damage they're doing to the environment. You can always see fishing line lying all over our dams." By Sheree Béga The Star 20/12/08e1
