Looking after our habitat and theirs

May 23, 2013 · 0 Comments

As a naturalist/photographer I go to many places to view, monitor and watch over our wildlife friends and their/our habitat. One of the worst things I think I have always encountered along waterways is fishing line left behind. Not only can it kill wildlife that gets caught in it but we to can get injured. It is invisible. It doesn’t break or break down. It is not environmentally friendly at all. And it is deadly.

Fishermen need to know to take it with them when they change it and not leave it behind. They need to retrieve it from the water if it gets caught and breaks (if they can).

I was part of the rescue of a loon that was slowly going to die. It could not eat, dive and barely swim when we were able to capture it. That loon was lucky. Many are not. But not only is the line deadly, the lead sinkers that are still used by many. They are deadly killers if ingested by loons, swans and all diving waterfowl. Losses of life are many. Fish that swallow hook lead and sinker as the saying goes, anything that eats those fish etc. A huge food chain reaction leading back to who? Humans, who eat some of these species. Fish, ducks.Yes, you could be getting slowly poisoned as well. Of course for us it would take much much longer depending on how much we eat and is very different. For the swans and ducks etc. Not so long. And it is a horrible death they suffer. We fish all year long, so let’s make sure we clean up. Leave no human traces. It’s not only for wildlife, but also for our pride of where we live; the beauty of our waterways were ever you may be. Because it is worth the little effort it takes, and we should be proud as Canadians of what we have and look after it for ourselves and our future generations. Below is a photo of a baby grackle caught in over 20 feet of fishing line. It was horrible but we got it loose and it was released back to its mom who was frantic.

By Jennifer Howard