Mysterious Fishermen Help A Pelican In Need

In south Florida, wherever fishermen and pelicans overlap, sooner or later a pelican gets hooked or entangled in fishing line, this is common. What happens immediately after this determines whether the pelican lives or dies:  If the fisherman cuts the line, the pelican likely will later die from starvation, or dehydration, if the line becomes entangled in the trees at its roost site. 

Or a savvy fisherman will reel the bird in, set it free, and save its life. So was the case recently at the South Pier at Port Everglades. Who were these men? We’d like to personally thank you.

Michigan native and professional photographer Ted Swoboda shares his story of fisherman in Fort Lauderdale who did the right thing during a recent fishing outing.

“I was on the south pier at Port Everglades with my camera when I saw a pelican swallow the lure from a fisherman’s cast. It was painful and startling to see the fishermen reeling in a helpless pelican. However the two men did what a conscientious person should do – instead of cutting the line which is the easy way out, and putting the bird in future risk these guys determined they would remove the lure.

The younger gentleman took a rag and grasped around the pelican’s bill to hoist it up to the pier, and at the same time his friend secured the bird’s body between this legs. A young lady summoned a needle nose pliers from another fisherman and the hook was clipped at the base for easy removal. All of us watching the struggle took a deep breath of air and smiled as the old timer gently tossed the brown pelican off the side of the pier. The younger man assured me the bird was OK, and I agreed it would be like a trip to the dentist and the bird would be fine.

I wanted to share these images to make people aware of how this situation was properly handled.”

– Ted Swoboda, Photographer

To those who did the right thing, thank you. You’re actions bring hope and increase awareness about the precious environment we all live with.