Albany fishers urged to be mindful of seabirds after the rescue of two entangled pelicans at Emu Point

WA Seabird Rescue volunteers are calling on fishers to be mindful of birds after two pelicans were rescued at Emu Point last week — including one that had three fishing hooks embedded in its bill. Volunteers Angela Radalj and Craig Underwood were at Emu Point boat ramp on Sunday night when they saw a group of about 10 pelicans near a fishing area. They said three of the birds were clearly caught up with hooks and trailing fishing lines. Mr Underwood said the pelicans were “trying to grab the hook out of the air” to get the bait as the fishers cast their lines. They then followed any caught fish as they were reeled in. “I think they don’t realise the risk, because a lot of time we’ll see a fisherman throw the fish to the pelican and obviously after they’ve caught it there’s no hook,” he said. “I don’t think they can differentiate between when the fish is on the hook versus when it’s just the free fish that’s been thrown back.” The volunteers returned the next day with rescue equipment and managed to capture one of the injured birds. Ms Radalj was able to remove a hook stuck in the pelican’s bill and further inspection revealed two other hooks that were deeply embedded. The pelican was taken to Lockyer Avenue Veterinary Hospital where the other hooks were surgically removed before the bird was released that afternoon. “For this particular bird to have been entangled three times, it was quite rare,” Mr Underwood said. “I don’t think we’ve ever come across one with that many hooks embedded in its beak at a single time.” Ms Radalj said there was often a “big spike in entanglements” during school holidays as more people went fishing. She said people should try to vary their fishing spots to avoid attracting pelicans, shoo them away if they were present and refrain from feeding them. “(Feeding them) is doing more harm than good because then the pelican associates the people with food,” she said. “We don’t want to humanise them to a point where they’re becoming entangled so frequently. “When it’s happened three times to the one bird, that’s really problematic.” Mr Underwood said some people cut fishing lines if they hooked a pelican in the belief that the hook would rust out. But in fact the hooks could remain for months, causing distress. “If you do catch hold of a pelican, try to pull it in with your line gently or try and just hold it where it is and then call Seabird Rescue and someone can get down there to offer assistance,” he said. Call WA Seabird Rescue on 6102 8464.