Nature Notebook – Fishing Line

“Hero Students Save Aquatic Animals from Painful Death!”

They didn’t know they were heroes. The two boys pulled a length of discarded fishing line off a plant growing in the water then threw it in the trash.

If a bird had landed on that plant, its legs and/or wings would have become tangled in the line. Unable to fly or perch properly the bird would have slowly starved to death or died of dehydration.

If one of the water snakes that hunts in that area had moved through the plant, it would also become tangled. It may have been able to move a bit so it would have struggled to get free. The strong, thin line would slowly dig into the snake’s body creating wounds like knife slices.

The end of the line dangling into the water may have enticed a fish that usually eats fly larvae at the surface. The indigestible line would have blocked its digestive system and the tangle would have prevented its escape from that area.