Good idea, I nominate including this, along with those other great photos at Jerrabomberra wetlands. It is also bigger than BIGnet. On the bigger issue, there
are regular fishing shows on TV, plus many fishing magazines. I am not a regular patron of either, but is this issue ever raised in these forums (fora)? Surely these are fitting targets to push for greater awareness of the problem. It is primarily the fishing
folk, rather than the birding folk that need to know.
Philip
From: Alison Russell-French [
Sent: Thursday, 7 March, 2019 9:59 AM
To: 'Con Boekel';
Cc: 'Jenny Bounds'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Fwd: Birds and fishing line
Hi All
Picking up Sandra’s comment about bins for discarded lines being located near fishing spots perhaps COG should consider whether it could look to provide signage at these spots showing the awful impacts on
various species from carelessly discarded fishing line. This could also be raised at the BIGnet meeting COG is hosting in September to spread the word.
Con is also right about the need for education at the source point – that is the buying point.
Regards
Alison
Alison Russell-French OAM
PO Box 1045
Canberra ACT 2601
M: +61 419 264 702
From: Con Boekel <>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2019 8:48 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Fwd: Birds and fishing line
Discarded line is just one output of a billion dollar industry involving around five million Australians.
Point of sale education would probably be the ideal starting point for educating the five million fishers.
m(".nsf/0/2A351D1E86C5FC28CA256B35007DC5C8","//www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs");">http:
regards
Con
On 3/7/2019 8:15 AM, Marg Peachey wrote:
Fishing line is a massive problem everywhere. Some councils have some good receptacles for discarded line but that does not address the main problem: birds caught in lines and those that have swallowed hooks with bait
on. Fisherfolk snag a bird and cut the line without a thought of the outcome for the bird and then leave the line lying around. I suspect we have all seen tangled bundles of line on the beaches and lake shores.
ACT Wildlife have many calls each year about swans and other birds that have been victims of fishing line and hooks. Some of the lures have three triple hook bits hanging off them (sorry must be a technical word for
those) that get caught in mouths, through wings and through the bodies of unsuspecting birds.
Makes me so angry. It is one of those animal welfare issues that is never addressed. The same is when dogs tear lizards to shreds and when flying foxes get caught in fruit netting that is the cheap option. Very often
results in a slow, painful death.
