Fishers urged to take extra care to protect birdlife

WILDLIFE carers and Tweed Shire Council are urging fishers to use extra caution to help protect local endangered bird life.

Together with Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers, the Council has appealed to residents and visitors to be vigilant in the waterways when fishing to prevent bird entanglements and deaths caused by discarded fishing debris.

It follows the death of a female Pied Oystercatcher in Cudgera Creek at Hastings Point two months ago after becoming entangled in a fishing line. In January, two more were found, caught in discarded fishing line and tackle in the same area.

Council’s Coast and Waterways Team Leader Tom Alletson said Tweed’s unique coastal birdlife was at serious risk from fishing debris.

“This is a sad story for our community and the threatened population of Pied Oyster Catchers in NSW,” Alletson said.

“They face many dangers and are highly vulnerable to disturbance by dogs and people. However, fishing line entanglement is a deadly yet preventable danger.

“Council and Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers are calling on all waterway users, particularly fishers, to take more care.”

Tweed Council guidelines recommend ways to ensure anglers keep the environment safe for native species. These include properly cleaning up and disposing of waste tackle, not leaving lines

unattended, watching children while fishing to ensure their lines are safely retrieved and avoiding fishing in areas where a line is likely to snag.

The Council actively manages key threats in the waterways to the Bush Stone-curlew, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Albert’s Lyrebird and the magnificent Osprey.

Vulnerable beach-nesting birds also under protection include the Australian Pied Oystercatcher, Sooty Oystercatcher, Little Tern, Red-capped Plover, and Beach-stone curlew.

For information on how the Council is managing bird conservation, tweed.nsw.gov.au/conserving-threatened-birds