Straits Times 11 Jul 09;
As global concern about climate change and environmental degradation grows, more groups have sprung up to spread the word on the importance of nature and conservation. Victoria Vaughan talks to some of the groups.
BIRDS are getting entangled in fishing lines, and an online group of bird enthusiasts hopes to save other avians from this fate.
This year, at least two herons, a mynah and a hornbill have fallen victim to abandoned lines, the Bird Ecology Study Group said.
It is publicising these incidents on its blog, which was set up four years ago and is approaching a million hits with about 400 visitors a day.
'The birds get caught in fishing lines left in the water or blown into the trees and they cannot escape, so they cannot feed themselves and they die,' said the group's founder, Mr Wee Yeow Chin, 72.
'We just post the details to make people aware of the issue and hope to persuade fishermen to be more careful about what they are doing,' added Mr Wee, former head of the Nature Society Singapore.
Angler Tan Tien Yun, who is setting up a group to tackle environmental issues involving fishing, said that rod-and-line fishermen should not just drop degraded line on the ground after cutting it.
'You should cut it up into small pieces, then put them in a Ziploc bag before throwing it in the rubbish bin,' the software developer said.
'Water that you fish in should be like a second home.
'If you abuse the environment, it will come back to you as there will be less fish to catch.'
The 'donkey work' behind the Bird Ecology Study Group, which comes under the Nature Society, is carried out by Mr Wee, a retired National University of Singapore botany teacher.
The blog interprets bird behaviour captured in photographs, going beyond traditional bird watchers' aims of noting the names of birds and admiring the plumage.
Through this, the group aims to encourage the study of birds and document issues relating to bird ecology such as breeding and feeding.
'This informal education through the site has an indirect conservation aspect, as we raise awareness about birds and their value,' Mr Wee said.
Related links
Killed by abandoned fishing line on the wild shores of singapore.
