Discarded fishing line can also be deadly for inland birds, expert says

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Ken Suarez reports

BRANDON, Fla. - Seabirds like pelicans, gulls and terns getting caught in fishing line has become a big problem along the gulf. Many fishermen just cut their line when it gets hung up on something and move on, which can have deadly results.

It's a problem that Nancy Murrah, the founder of the Raptor Center of Tampa Bay, passionately works to bring awareness to. She just got a red shouldered hawk that was found entangled in a tree in Kissimmee Lake State Park.

"If the rangers wouldn't have found him, he would have been dead," Murrah said. "They can't get the line off. Braided fishing line is hard to cut with a knife, hard for a bird to break with its beak. Monofilament, pretty much the same way too."

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It is a well-known problem with seabirds, but Murrah said it happens with inland birds that congregate to eat at lakes and streams as well.

She says fishing line, wherever it is carelessly discarded, can be a death sentence for birds.

The red shouldered hawk that is rehabilitating now is getting medical attention and physical therapy for its injured wing. If all continues to go well, it should be healthy enough to return to the wild in a few weeks.

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Murrah said the hawk is one of the lucky ones.

"This bird was found, because it was in a state forest," she said. "Had it been on private land in a forest, it would have perished."

For more information, visit Raptor Center Tampa Bay's website.

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