As the eyes and ears of Canvey, community warden JESS FISHER patrols the streets every day helping to improve the local environment and reduce anti-social behaviour. This week she talks
about the perils of discarded fishing line endangering wildlife at Canvey Lake

 

IMPROPERLY discarded fishing line cripples and kills our wildlife at an alarming rate.

Birds frequently become entangled in the line, usually resulting in their death, though sometimes severing limbs to free themselves.

Of those few that are able to sacrifice a limb for a chance of survival, many will only eventually die when the wound becomes infected. Birds face prolonged death from starvation by having the line wrapped around their beaks or necks.

This is a totally unnecessary and wasteful tragedy that can be easily prevented. If you fish, remove all lines and hooks and take it with you for proper disposal, if you are walking and see any discarded line remove it.

Even when the waste fishing line is disposed of in rubbish bins it still goes to the landfill, which creates the same hazards for wildlife, unless it is cut into very, very small pieces. At the present time we have a goose at Canvey Lake which has line tangled around both legs and over the days one leg is being drawn up towards the wing. The goose can hardly walk and keeps near to the water. We have tried repeatedly to release it from the bonds which entrap it, with no success.