Seabird Smart advice for Kiwi fishos
When seabirds like black petrels and sooty shearwaters return from their travels they are hungry and need to replenish their reserves. During the breeding season, they have hungry chicks waiting back at a nest or in a burrow, and this means the race to get food is great. Both commercial and recreational fishing boats offer an easy source of food for them, with baits in the water. So any boat that has bait or burley in the water will attract them like a magnet. Seabirds sometimes become tangled in lines or caught on hooks while diving for baits used in recreational and commercial fishing.
So what can you do to avoid seabirds interrupting your day's fishing, and what should you do if you accidently hook one?
Avoiding seabird hookups
Your first step in Seabird Smart Fishing is to avoid hook ups.
- Sink your bait fast
- Leave nothing unattended
Seabirds have an acute sense of smell and keen eyesight. Getting your bait and hooks into the water quickly will minimise the chance of seabird interactions. Bait lying around on deck is also fair game for hungry parents trying to feed their chicks, so keep any baited hooks covered too. Some seabirds are also great divers so make sure you keep an eye on your lines at all times.
Our Fishing for Ideas competition revealed some new ideas for keeping birds away from your boat.
Seabird Safe Release
It's likely that if you do hook a seabird it will be pretty annoyed. Don't be put off by those flapping wings, just follow these helpful hints and easy steps to give your seabird its best chance of survival.
We've created a poster below that you can print off and put in your boat or tackle box.
Safe Seabird Release 738kB
Carry a release kit onboard
Even small boats can fit this simple seabird release kit:
- A towel or blanket
- A pair of pliers
- A net with a handle long enough to safely scoop a bird from the water while onboard your boat
Having this kit on your boat will make it easier on the day for you and your seabird. It's cheap and doesn't take up much space, so get your kit sorted today.
Handling a seabird
Here are some helpful handling hints to care for your seabird:
- Approach birds from behind where possible
- Never cover a bird's nostrils (they need air too, just like you)
- Make sure its bill is not twisted when holding its beak
If you need further advice or want to report the incident call the emergency hotline:
0800 HOT DOC or 0800 362 468
Step by step safe seabird release
If your seabird is hooked in the bill, legs or body follow these steps for release:
1. Turn off your motor and use a landing net to lift the bird on board
2. Hold small birds between your fingers behind the neck
3. Wrap medium sized birds in towels and cover its eyes if possible
4. Hold large birds' bills shut, careful not to block nostrils
5. Use pliers to flatten the hook's barb
6. Pull the hook back out of the beak
7. Release a healthy bird gently onto the water or if the bird is exhausted or waterlogged, place in a loosely covered box to recover
If the hook has been swallowed
This problem is more difficult to deal with and potentially more life-threatening for the seabird. Our advice at this stage is, where practical, take the seabird to land for expert attention and call the emergency number above.
If this is not possible cut the line as close to entry as possible and release the seabird gently onto the water.
Watch this page for a flier that we're working on.