A colony of nesting gulls 



signs and rope off nesting sites along the 

 beaches. And the Audubon Society also 

 takes steps to protect the birds in their 

 sanctuaries. 



Although wildlife managers can warn 

 off people, they can't warn away another 

 people problem — marine debris, such as 

 discarded fishing line, six-pack yokes and 

 abandoned fishing nets. 



Pamell, Henson and Golder say they 

 rarely visit a colony site without finding one 

 or more birds entangled in debris. 

 Waterbirds, because they nest in these 

 colonies, are particularly susceptible to 

 discarded fishing line and nets. 



While scavenging for food, one bird 

 can become entangled in line, then return 



A pelican nesting colony 



to the colony to eventually entangle its 

 neighbors. 



"I've found as many as five pelicans 

 in the same piece of fishing line," Golder 

 says. 



The solution to this entangling 

 problem? 

 Education. 



Golder says fishermen need to learn 

 not to throw fishing line overboard and 

 not to cut line that becomes snagged or 

 tangled. Fishing line should be taken back 

 to shore and discarded in a covered 

 container. 



Sea Grant's Lundie Spence agrees. 

 Spence, coordinator of The Big Sweep, the 

 nation's largest statewide waterway litter 



cleanup, says animal entanglement is the 

 main reason the cleanup of beaches, rivers 

 and streams began six years ago. 



Now The Big Sweep and the 

 Audubon Society are considering a team 

 approach to fisherman education. Spence 

 and Golder are discussing the possible 

 publication of a poster aimed at educating 

 recreational boaters and fishermen about 

 entanglement. 



With so many agencies and groups 

 teaming up to help colonial waterbirds, 

 what does the future hold for these coastal 

 nesters? 



Continued support. 



Parnell says the waterbird populations 

 would decline without the kind of strong 

 management North Carolina is providing 

 now. And even with good management, 

 some species are on the decline. 



"None of the birds are officially on the 

 Fish and Wildlife's endangered and 

 threatened list, but some of their numbers 

 are relatively low, particularly the gull- 

 billed terns and the glossy ibises," Parnell 

 says. 



To beef up its support of the birds, 

 the state is looking to extend its manage- 

 ment beyond nesting habitat to include the 

 feeding areas too. 



"We're moving on to manage the 

 whole area, not just the nesting sites," 

 Henson says. "We feel total management is 

 the way we have to go now." 



And the state and Audubon Society 

 strive to add more estuarine islands to their 

 management realms. The Wildlife Re- 

 sources Commission works to have 

 unassigned, state-owned islands placed 

 under their jurisdiction so they can post 

 and monitor them. 



Likewise, the Audubon Society tries 

 to acquire more privately owned islands 

 either through gifts or leases to add to 

 their bird sanctuary system. 



Although North Carolina works hard 

 to do its part to help colonial waterbirds. 

 Pamell says it takes more than effort from 

 one state to maintain bird populations. 



"Wildlife management needs to 

 become a global concept," Pamell says. 

 "Birds and other animals are declining so 

 significantly that we can't sit back." □ 



COASTWATCH 5 



