24 hour hotline 02 6672 4789

For seabirds needing assistance around Ballina NSW phone Australian Seabird Rescue on 02 6686 2852 or 042 886 2852

For seabirds needing assistance in south east QLD phone 07 5485 3543

For all other areas visit our carer directory

• Cast away from birds foraging where you are fishing – or better still, fish in areas away from pelicans or other birds hunting for food in the water.
• Avoid the use of unattended set lines - stay with your rod and line.
• Avoid the use of stainless steel hooks which can take many years to break down in the environment.
• Collect all discarded line, tackle, plastic bags, bait bags or any other rubbish which you find on beaches, shorelines, river banks and jetties..
• Don’t leave anything behind. Items such as plastic bags can prove fatal to our endangered sea turtles which mistake them for jellyfish.
• Take home all tangled tackle, and dispose of it properly by cutting into small pieces to avoid entanglement by other birds scavenging on rubbish such as sacred ibis.
• Report any injured creature immediately to us, your nearest wildlife group, or National Parks & Wildlife Service.

• DO NOT panic – stay calm.
• DO NOT cut the line.
• Slowly reel the bird in. Even large pelicans can be gently reeled in, and are actually very placid creatures.
• Place a towel or shirt to cover the birds head and eyes, and carefully try to remove the hook and line.
• DO NOT release the bird if hooks have either been swallowed, or are too deeply embedded for easy removal. Call your local rescue group or the NPWS for assistance.

• Contrary to popular myth - hooks do not rust away in a few days – even if swallowed.
• Even in saltwater, most hooks, including the common ‘bronzie’ can take at least 6 months to disintegrate.
• An embedded hook will very likely cause fatal infection or death from other complications.
• Rescuers have well developed techniques for capturing injured creatures – even injured birds capable of full flight.

Fishing tackle statistics

According to a 10 year study researched by Lance Ferris of Australian Seabird Rescue - fishing line entanglement was responsible for 94% of life threatening or debilitating conditions from rescued or retrieved pelicans. the other 6% was made up of disease, powerline strike, boat strike, and chemical pollution.

As you can see, entanglement with fishing line, hooks, sinkers, lures, and traces is by far the single biggest problem facing our beloved pelicans.

• Birds which were accidentally entangled in fishing line, at the time being used by active fishers = 90%
• Birds which were entangled in fishing line, which was unattended and set from a jetty or shore = 7%
• Birds which were entangled in fishing line, discarded on shores = 3%

A staggering 9 out of 10 pelicans are hooked or entangled by active fishing.

Many pelicans and other seabirds die a slow and painful death after becoming entangled. Often attempts by the bird to free itself only results in the animal becoming more and more entwined. Infection and the inability to feed is a sad end for these peaceful majestic birds.

The gruesome reality of accidentally hooking a pelican by fishing too close to foraging birds is illustrated in this graphic pop up photo which may distress or upset some readers. To view click here.

The recovering pelican pictured below was lucky...

• If you find one alive: Temperature is of extreme urgency. If it is small, take it home and call us. If it is large, get some help to move it beyond the high tide mark and/or into the shade. Place damp towels over it [unless it is a cold, windy day]. Someone needs to stay with the turtle so that (a) no one interferes with it, and (b) we can find it quickly on the beach. Curious people should be kept well behind the turtle to avoid further stress.
• If you find a dead turtle: It is as vital to turtle conservation as a live one, especially if it is tagged.