Public reminded to ‘Mind Your Line’ after eaglet incident
Two island entities responded after the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam in North Fort Myers recently captured on camera M15 and F23’s eaglet with what appeared to be a fishing hook in its mouth.
On Jan. 14, the cam shared via social media that after having fish for breakfast that morning, E23 showed signs of distress and a possible hook was seen lodged within its mouth. F23 attempted multiple times to free the material with no luck. M15 returned and he was eventually able to free the hook.
“A wonderful outcome to something that could have been deadly,” the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam reported. “It’s an important reminder of the threat that fishing hooks and monofilament line pose to wildlife when improperly discarded into the environment.”
Both the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife and J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel responded to the close call and reminded the public of the importance of responsible fishing.
“This is a very sad reminder of what inappropriately discarded fishing equipment does to our wildlife,” CROW shared. “Our hospital has seen an increase in the number of hook and line patients admitted in the past month. Please practice responsible fishing by discarding your equipment properly to decrease the impacts on our wildlife.”
“Responsible disposal of fish hooks and monofilament lines saves lives. Wildlife lives,” the refuge reported. “A fish hook recently threatened the life of a baby eagle in the nest of local ‘celebrity’ eagles. Thankfully, the father eagle was able to remove it.”
CROW added that its wildlife hospital is open 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you find an animal that is tangled in fishing line and needs assistance, contact the hospital at 239-472-3644.
The refuge added that it holds monofilament cleanups regularly with school groups to keep wildlife safe from such potential lethal hazards. It is also establishing a new monofilament removal team to clean abandoned fishing gear out of the mangroves on Fridays. Volunteer paddlers will gain access to the refuge that day — when it is closed to the public — and the satisfaction of saving wildlife. For more information, contact Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland at toni_westland@fws.gov.
For more information about responsible fishing, visit Mind Your Line at mindyourline.org.
To view the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, visit https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/.