TAMPA, Fla. — More than 3,300 pelicans got tangled in fishing gear at the Skyway Fishing Pier and needed to be rescued between 2021 and 2022, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). It's why the commission is now proposing new rules for fishers at the popular spot.

What You Need To Know

  • More than 3,300 pelicans got tangled in fishing gear between 2021 and 2022, according to FWC. More than 500 were confirmed or presumed dead

  • Officials are proposing new rules for fishers to help reduce injury and death in pelicans

  • The commission says certain types of fishing gear make it easier for pelicans to get trapped or hooked

More than 200,000 people visit the Skyway Fishing Pier every year, making it one of the most popular fishing spots in the state, according to FWC.

It’s also home to large colonies of pelicans.

But Kim Begay, with Friends of the Pelicans, said the birds’ home is becoming a death trap. 

“This is a problem that basically every other organization has kind of walked away from,” Begay said. “I guess they got frustrated. But we have never stopped. We’re the only organization that has persisted in standing up for our pelicans because they are literally getting slaughtered out here. And that’s why they’ve nicknamed this place ‘pelican death row.’”

Begay said she and other volunteers with the organization have helped rescue thousands of birds over the last few years, some found wrapped in up to 50 feet of fishing line. Begay explained the pilings on the pier attract bait fish which the pelicans dive down for, sometimes heading straight into fishing lines. 

The rescue organization has been advocating for almost five years to get the issue fixed, and FWC is now proposing new regulations. The commission is mainly looking at restrictions on certain types of gear they said makes it easier for pelicans to get hooked or tangled.

The proposed rules include:

  • A ban on hook and line gear with more than one hook attached (sabiki rig) and any multiple hook (treble hook) from November to March
  • Fishers can have no more than two rods
  • Sabiki rigs prohibited year-round within a portion of the South Skyway Pier
  • Annual education requirement for fishers using the pier

Staff would also review the regulations two years after they go into effect. Over the last few months, FWC held multiple public hearings to hear from people on both sides of the issue about how the problem should be addressed.

“We are thankful that they’re doing something now,” Begay said. “It’s way too late, but we are thankful for what they’re doing and the efforts that they’re putting forth. But we feel that the regulations they’re proposing are not enough.”

Some fishers have said they feel the regulations are too harsh and suggested the commission also look at ways to keep the birds from getting too close to the pier. 

“I can’t even remember hardly, maybe more than once in my life, a pelican running into my line that’s stretched out,” one fisher at the pier said. “The moment where it’s dangerous is when you’re bringing your fish in and they see that fish dangling, they will come in and try to grab it.”

Bryan Snyder is a lifelong fisher and said he loves nothing more than the rush of reeling in a big catch. He said the proposed rules make sense and feels they could be a good thing. 

“It’s just people not being responsible, you know what I mean?” he said. “You’ve got to take care of the wildlife.”

FWC will present the proposed rules at their meeting in Jacksonville on Tuesday. After that, officials said they will go back to get more public comment before holding a final vote at a future meeting. Their next scheduled meeting is in May.