Snowy egret. Keep your bait bucket covered when this guy is on the prowl—and no handouts.
August 26, 2024
By Jeff Liechty
Jeff Liechty is a Coastal Biologist with Audubon Florida Florida’s shores are known for their bird diversity, from more than a dozen species of slender wading birds to the impressive size of brown and American white pelicans. Whenever you’re out on the water, follow these five tips to keep you—and the birds—happy and healthy across fishing seasons.
Don’t feed birds. Birds that associate people with food will come too close, risking entanglement. Moreover, bait and gutted fish can hurt or even kill them, especially if bones are exposed. Keep bait buckets covered. Note: Unattended rods and bait attract birds too—stay near your gear.
Avoid casting near birds. Just like the predatory fish that you’re trying to catch, seabirds often go after injured fish in the school and will mistake your rig for their next meal. These birds are quick and agile in the water, and can easily catch your bait before you have a chance to reel it in.
Clear your gear. If you snag on a tree or other structure, don’t cut the line—remove it and dispose of it safely. Fishing line remains in the environment for hundreds of years before degrading. Dangling line entangles birds, including pelicans, herons, egrets, and more, leading to injury and death.
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Dispose of hooks and line responsibly in covered trash cans or monofilament tubes for recycling. These receptacles are designed to keep birds and other wildlife out.
If you’ve hooked a bird, don’t panic! During an accidental hooking, don’t cut the line. Put on your sunglasses to protect your eyes from the bird’s bill, then slowly reel the bird in. Carefully grab the bird and place a towel over its head to keep it calm. Cut off the barb with heavy pliers or a hook cutter, then back the hook out. If the bird is uninjured, release it back into the wild; if the bird has swallowed the hook or is seriously injured, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to find a wildlife rehabilitator in your region: 1-888-404-3922.
Sunshine Skyway Reminder Bird-aware angler fishing at Skyway Pier, Tampa Bay. Even the magazine editor took the course, left. Access to one of Florida’s most popular shore fishing spots, the Sunshine Skyway piers on Tampa Bay, now requires visitors pass an annual online education course that includes advice on minimizing conflicts with other visitors—namely the brown pelicans and many varieties of seabirds which frequent the area. Watch the free online presentation (30 minutes), ace the course (unlimited chances and not too hard) and you will receive a certificate of completion with a unique course completion code.
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Proof of completion of the educational course is required for anyone who fishes at the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, including those 65 and older who are normally exempt from needing a fishing license. Anglers younger than 16 are not required to complete the education course as long as they are accompanied by an adult or guardian who has completed the course and received a certificate in the past year.
There’s a lot of good information and resources provided in the online course; it’s a worthwhile watch even for anglers not planning to visit the Skyway.
This article was featured in the June 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe .
