back
to top
Angler
Alert: Fishing Line Can Kill
The
osprey (or Pandion haliaetus) is a bird of prey
and you can see it along many lakes and rivers in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Ospreys
are also called fish hawks because fish is their favorite
food. To catch a fish, an osprey will hover above the
water, searching for prey. When the osprey spots the fish,
it plummets down, feet first, and grasps the fish with
both feet.
Its
love for fish and its habitat close to water has exposed
the osprey to a very particular kind of pollution: abandoned
fishing lines, left or lost by inattentive anglers.
Ospreys
are very tolerant of humans and will fish and nest close
to populated communities. They line their nests with a
variety of natural and manmade materials that they find
nearby, including paper, plastic ropes, and...fishing
lines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that
5 to 10 percent of osprey nests include fishing line.
Osprey
young have been found in their nests entangled in fishing
line or impaled with fishing hooks. Adults can also be
entangled in fishing line. Legs, wings and beaks can become
so tangled that the bird will not be able stand, fly or
eat.
To
make matters worse for the osprey, the Chesapeake Bay
fishing season even overlaps with the osprey's nesting
season. The Chesapeake Bay has some of the finest fishing
on the East Coast and in Maryland alone, more than 461,468
anglers fish the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries
from late March through November. While anglers are fishing
the Bay, the ospreys are building their nests and raising
their young.
What
can you do?
Fortunately,
this kind of pollution is visible, and it is easy for
anglers to help. You can reduce the injuries or deaths
to ospreys and other wildlife simply by properly discarding
fishing line and hooks. Retrieve broken lines, lures and
hooks and deposit them in trash containers or take them
home.
By
retrieving fishing lines and hooks, you're not only helping
the osprey. Many types of wildlife, such black crowned
night herons, gulls, great blue herons, ducks, but also
turtles, can be impacted by fishing line. And by picking
up that line or hook, you will be doing all of them a
big favor.
(Information
provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.)
References
and further reading
Related
Watershed Radio programs
About
the Ospreys and Angler Alerts
Back
to top
.