WILDLIFE volunteers believe an influx of fishermen to the Tweed Coast over the long weekend resulted in a noticeable increase in injured sea birds.

Australian Sea Bird Rescue volunteer Mary Grant said she was at her wits' end over people's lack of consideration towards the wellbeing of seabirds in the area.

Carrying a seagull with a hook through its foot, Ms Grant issued a plea to fishermen angling on the Tweed coast to take extra care. She and other volunteers are tired of finding seabirds with a range of different, yet equally disturbing, injuries all caused by anglers.

“I've come across a pelican that was hooked in the beak and seagulls with fishing line wound so tightly around their legs it had cut them to the bone,” she said.

“A lot of the time the birds fly away before we have time to rescue them, which is why we need to prevent the issue rather than having to go into damage control.”

Ms Grant said the ongoing issue could easily be resolved by people taking more caution while fishing and reporting injured birds instead of ignoring the problem.

“Please don't fish around foraging sea birds,” she said.

“If you do decide to fish in areas with a large popu- lation of seabirds and accidentally hook a bird, reel it in gently, contain it and call Tweed Valley Wildlife Carers who can give more assistance.”