WWF and KFBG Release a Recovered Black-faced Spoonbill back to Nature (28 Feb 2008)
http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/pressreleases/20080228.php After seven weeks of special care and treatment by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) and WWF, a Black-faced Spoonbill, recovered from injures caused by an ingested fish hook and fishing line, is ready to go back to the wild and join its flock today at the Mai Po Nature Reserve.
"This is the fourth known Black-faced Spoonbill that has been injured by fish hook and lines in Hong Kong and we are very glad it has survived and recovered well from its injuries. The first two Spoonbills died as a result of hook ingestion, the third suffered severe injury to the left wing and required wing amputation." said Bena Smith, Reserve Officer of WWF Hong Kong.
WWF staff discovered the weak and undernourished Spoonbill inside a fish pond at the Mai Po Nature Reserve on 10th January 2008. It was entangled in fishing line suffering slight injury to the right wing and had swallowed a fish hook. It was then taken to the Wild Animal Rescue Centre of KFBG for treatment.
"Our veterinarian conducted a three-hour operation to remove the fish hook from the bird's stomach. Over the last seven weeks the KFBG rehabilitation team have cared for the bird and fed it a gourmet diet of fish. Its weight subsequently increased from 1.1Kg after capture to a healthy 1.7Kg," Ms Amanda Crow, Conservation Officer and Section Head of Raptor & Bird Rehabilitation Section of KFBG.
It is common practice that fish farmers set lines and hooks around their fish ponds to protect their fish yield from fish-eating birds. As Black-faced Spoonbills and other wild birds are protected by Hong Kong law, these practices are illegal. WWF and KFBG hope that fish farmers will amend their activities and seek more humane deterrent practices that will help protect their fish stocks, whilst not endangering the wild bird populations.
"With permission from the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Hong Kong Bird Ringing Group has fitted coloured identity leg tags to the Black-faced Spoonbill in the hope that bird observers in East Asia might re-sight the bird as it migrates through the flyway in the coming years," Ms Crow explained.
KFBG receives 1-2 birds each year suffering from fish hook and line related injuries which are mainly waterbird species. In December 2007 a different Black-faced Spoonbill entangled in fishing line was photographed by birdwatchers in Deep Bay. The fate of that bird is unknown, but as it has not been seen since it is assumed to be dead.
Black-faced Spoonbills are a globally endangered migratory species. The world population is around 1,700 individuals of which about one-fifth spend their winter at Mai Po – making it one of the key stopover sites for Spoonbills in the East Asian Australasian Flyway. WWF has since the mid-1980s dedicated considerable effort to protect these and other important bird species at Mai Po to ensure their long-term survival with coordinated veterinary support from KFBG.
If a member of the public finds illegal fish lines or traps across fish ponds they should report the incident to AFCD and if verified, the Government department will remove the structures and may prosecute the involved parties.
