[Ken Jones]

Thanks for the information.

[illcatchanything2]

[Ken Jones]

KION 46 Your Eye On The Central Coast

Two Fishing Piers Closed To Protect Pelicans

08/07/08

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.- The California Department of Fish and Game has temporarily closed two popular fishing piers in Santa Cruz County after large numbers of pelicans were found injured by fishing gear.

Nine pelicans from an area around the Cement Ship Pier, also known as the Sea Cliff Beach Pier, in the unincorporated town of Aptos were admitted to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield on Monday. Three more injured birds were found near the Capitola Wharf in
Capitola.

Jay Holcomb, director of the bird rescue center, said that the wildlife hospital has admitted 123 injured pelicans so far this year, but 108 of those birds have been admitted since June 15, the majority coming from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

Most of the pelicans getting ensnared in fishing gear are young birds that are just learning to hunt, Holcomb said.

The youngsters have followed schools of anchovies and sardines up the coast from their nesting grounds in the Channel Islands in Southern California.

Recreational fishermen going after the same fish often have as many as five hooks on a single line. When the young pelicans see the wriggling fish being pulled out of the water, they swoop down to eat them and get tangled in the line or caught on the hooks.

While the birds are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, Kelly said that most of the time fishermen hook the birds accidentally.

"We don't want to make criminals out of people who are just out there trying to recreate," Kelly said.

But, he said, the department also has to protect the birds.

The Cement Ship Pier was closed Tuesday morning. After consulting officials in Capitola, the Capitola Wharf was closed to fishing this morning, but businesses on the pier remain open.

The piers will remain closed until the schools of bait fish, mainly anchovies, move on, leading the pelicans away.

Although Kelly said a group of recreational fisherman had objected to the pier closure, they were "not nearly as vociferous" as the people who want to save the birds.

“There are some people who feel that every bird should be saved and there are some people who feel that every fish should be caught," Kelly said. "We do the best we can to juggle the quandary."

Meanwhile, Holcomb said the rescued birds were doing well, but they "eat a ton."

He estimated that caring for a single pelican costs the hospital about $20 a day. The hospital currently has 80 pelicans, which ads up to about $1,600 per day.

People can help by donating to the International Bird Rescue Research Center or "adopt" a pelican on the organization's Web site at www.ibrrc.org.

Pelicans have been listed as an endangered species since 1970 when the pesticide Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane, known as DDT, nearly wiped out their populations. The species has since made a major comeback and, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, officials have proposed to take the pelicans off the endangered species list.

Holcomb said that even though the populations have recovered significantly, pelicans are still considered "a species of concern" and remain susceptible to oil spills, fishing hazards and a certain type of red tide that contains domoic acid, which acts as a neurotoxin on pelicans and causes brain seizures.

[pinfish]

Hear about the truck that drove off the pier in SC?

[norcalkat]

ill be there about 1pm, if you see me and the family stop by and say hello.

[wings42]

Ken's suggestion to use barbless hooks as a general practice is a good one.

A quick and easy way to make your hooks barbless is to crimp down on the barb hard with your needle-nosed pliers. That leaves a slight smooth bump at the end of the hook that doesn't interfere the sharp point or with setting the hook. It's a lot easier than grinding the barbs down.