REFUGE/DDWS

The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge continued its semimonthly monofilament cleanup efforts in April as staff and volunteers hit the mangroves in kayaks to remove hooks, lures and bobbers, along with potentially deadly monofilament fishing line. Since it restarted its monofilament removal mission in March, teams have collected about 1,540 feet of line, 46 lures, 12 bobbers and 53 hooks. The refuge reminded the public to fish responsibly by properly discarding of fishing gear and clearing broken lines from tree limbs. Wildlife can become entangled in the line and ingest lures and hooks to fatal results. The April team members included: Ranger Yvette Carrasco, Dan Hopta, Lisa Kirby, Justin Kolster, Geoffrey Moss, Ranger Tucker Phillips, biological science technician Avery Renshaw, intern Sarah Riedlin and Karen Turner.