ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Pelicans know where the fish are.
Their quest for the tastiest fish, however, can bring them in contact with some life-threatening consequences as they are often hooked or entangled in fishing gear, leading to injury or death.
Staff members at a local animal rehab organization know all too well what injuries can occur to these long-billed shorebirds in their search for food.
“We see at least 50 pelicans a year with mostly fishing-type injuries,” said Krista Carpenter, a volunteer at Bradenton Beach-based Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc.
Entanglement can occur at many locations, but fishing piers and boat ramps are hot spots for this conflict between anglers and pelicans.
“If you hook a pelican, you can reel in the bird as gently as you can,” Carpenter said. “Cover their head with a towel to calm them and then call us.”
If a pelican is caught in a fishing line, Carpenter said that as the line gets tighter it will cut into the bird’s skin or internal organs.
Another hazard is fish bones getting caught in the birds’ throats.
Signs at local boat ramps say, “Please Don’t Feed the Birds!” because filleted carcasses and large fish bones can injure or kill seabirds by puncturing their throats.
“Pelicans are resilient,” Carpenter said. “If we can get to them quickly enough before bones get into their digestive tract, they have a good chance.”
Audubon Florida was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support a brown pelican banding study.
The banding project in the Tampa Bay region is designed to discover more about survival rates following accidental hooking and learn more about repeat entanglements for released birds.
Audubon Florida’s goal is to band 50-100 birds over the initial 12-month period of the study. An additional 75-100 successfully rehabilitated brown pelicans will also be banded prior to release.
Current project partners include Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores, Skyway Fishing Pier State Park and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The Hooked Pelican Working Group, formed to address this problem, is a partnership between the FWC, Audubon Florida, park managers, rescuers, rehabilitators and anglers.
