• Check out our new brochure that illustrates the perils our shorebirds and waders are in from fishing line and hooks, and teaches you what you can do to help! Contact us to request printed copies.

• Check out our new videos that demonstrate the perils our shorebirds face and how to rescue an entangled pelican.

• As of December 2017, we have a new info card that your can print explaining the law regarding feeding pelicans that you can help distribute. ​

• Click here if you would like to make a donation specifically to help hooked birds

• Read about Ann Paul and Mark Rachal's work with hooked birds in "Seabirds' lives on the (fishing) line" and "Light but lethal, stray fishing line takes toll on seabirds" (Tampa Tribune, May 2014).

• Read about Tampa Bay Watch and Audubon Florida's efforts in fishing line cleanup in St. Petersburg aimed at helping nesting birds (Bay News 9, October 2021)

 

​SOME DOs and DON'Ts:

 

• DON'T CUT THE LINE if you hook a bird! Gently reel the bird in

      and get help releasing it.

• DON'T feed waterbirds anything, especially fish scraps or bait.

• DON'T leave fishing poles and lines unattended.

• DON'T dump leftover or used bait on the ground.

• DO use designated carcass chutes to dispose of unwanted fish parts.

• DO cover up your bait.

• DO properly dispose of all excess and unwanted fishing line and hooks.

• DO call FWC hotline 888-404-3922 if you find a bird too injured to be released or that can't be untangled. Local rescuers and rehabilitators are always on call to help.

 

Our committee is made up of representatives from three local Audubon chapters (Tampa, St Pete and Manatee), Coastal Island Sanctuaries, FDEP, FWC, Gulf Coast Bird Rescue, Save All Birds, Save Our Seabirds, Wildlife Rescue Service, and the Skyway Pier. We offer Basic Bird Handling and Rescue classes to train potential Bird Stewards to untangle and unhook birds, and to educate fishermen on how to keep from hooking a bird and what to do if they accidentally hook one. Lee Fox and Beth Weir both generously donate their time to educate us. You will hear more from our committee in the future, as we build our program.

 

There are 43 marine boat ramps and fishing piers in Hillsborough County alone. That does not include all of the freshwater lakes and rivers where people fish. Please, for now, help spread this message gently to anglers at boat ramps, fishing piers and lakes. We don't want to be divisive; we want to educate. Recently, a young owl was hooked at Lettuce Lake, and a green heron was killed by fishing line in a local lake. At the end of nesting season, dozens of bird skeletons tangled in fishing line are removed from the islands where they have nested. Birds that are rapidly rescued and released suffer fewer permanent, disabling injuries that require expensive rehabilitation (that is in short supply).

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If you are interested in us doing a program for your chapter or organization, please contact our Chapter President.