MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A seagull with a fishhook caught in its mouth and fishing line wrapped around its body was euthanised after X-rays showed another fishhook had pierced its intestines. 

The seagull was initially spotted, with the fishhook in its mouth, by Mossel Bay resident Michael de Nobrega at Santos Beach on 14 October. 

He immediately contacted the Seabird and Penguin Rehabilitation Centre (SAPREC) so it could attempt to rescue and treat the bird. De Nobrega said when he first saw the seagull, it was being attacked by birds as they thought the hook was food hanging out of its mouth. 

"The seagull actually went to hide in some bushes to get away from the other seagulls. It was terrible," he said. 

After he contacted SAPREC, the centre's founder, Carol Walton and De Nobrega spent the next three days trying to catch the bird so that it could be taken for treatment. 

Starving and thirsty 

"When we finally caught the seagull on that third day, we found that it was totally entwined in the fishing line. “It was in its mouth, wrapped around the tongue and beak and wrapped around one of the wings. “It was bleeding badly, it was starving and thirsty," said Walton. 

She said after getting it to the centre, they stabilised the seagull and then did an X-ray where they discovered a fishhook that it had swallowed, had punctured its intestine, ultimately causing septicaemia," she said.

SAPREC founder Carol Walton with the seagull. Photo: Michael de Nobrega

 Perforated 

"We would have operated if the hook had not perforated the intestine but it had and so the difficult decision of euthanising it was made," Walton said. "It had been in this terrible state for about five days. The bird would have starved to death and it would have been a very slow and painful death," 

She said that seabirds getting entwined in fishing line and caught on hooks happened more frequently than the public realised. "If you see fishing line, please pick it up, don't just leave it, especially if the line is on the rocks."

Opportunistic 

Walton said seagulls are opportunistic birds and will often go for the bait on a line once a fisherman has cast the line in the water. She said the seagull then gets hooked on the line and the fisherman will usually just cut the line. 

"If a seagull gets caught on your line, we ask that you reel your line in and try to save the bird so it is not stuck in a similar situation. If you cannot free the bird, please call us and we will try to assist," she said. 

This photo was taken on 14 October, the first day Michael de Nobrega spotted the seagull with the hook in its mouth.

Walton and De Nobrega both said there have been previous incidents of seagulls and oystercatchers becoming entangled. Mossel Bay Advertiser previously published a photo by De Nobrega of a seagull with one foot amputated and dangling from a fishing line, also wound around its other foot.

 Fishing line around tongue 

"On Sunday, 20 October, I took photos of a kelp gull at The Point trying to eat a crab but struggled due to the fishing line wrapped around its tongue," said De Nobrega. 

"Often, when a fisherman's line gets caught on rocks, there is nothing else to be done but break off the line and it is very difficult to get to and clean up that cut line. If you see discarded lines, ropes, or anything on the rocks and beaches that do not belong in the sea, please pick it up and discard it properly," said De Nobrega. 

To report any seabirds in distress, call SAPREC's Carol Walton (082 364 3382).

A different seagull, a kelp gull, battles to catch and eat a crab at The Point, because of fishing line around its tongue. Photo: Michael de Nobrega

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