THE Tweed's seabird population are facing severe threats from stray fishing hooks, ingested plastic and dog attacks.

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Veterinary surgeon Dr Andrew Hill said that hooks cut from fishing lines were a big problem for the areas seabirds, including swans, terns and cormorants.

"If we don't have a hook a week by Friday, then it's been a slow week," he said.

"The birds get them caught in their feet and ingest them. This requires major surgery."

Dr Hill was conducting surgery on a swan with severe dog bites when My Daily News visited the hospital and another swan was due to have a hook removed from it's internal organs via surgery sometime soon.

A spokeswoman from the sanctuary said that while birds ingesting plastic was an issue, fishing hooks caused "100 times" the admissions to the wildlife hospital.

"It's becoming a much worse problem then them ingesting plastic," she said.

Australian Seabird Rescue volunteer Mary Grant from Australian Seabird Rescue said she was noticing an increase in the amount of injured birds she was rescuing.

"There's pelicans, seagulls, cormorants and terns," she said.

"Pieces of plastic in their guts can cause a lot of damage. Just have a look at the amount of plastic that was in the Terranora estuary before the floods."

She said that much of the plastic was washed out to sea, causing seabirds to ingest them as a mistaken source of food.

Dr Hill said while his job was rewarding, it was sad to have to revert the damage caused to seabirds by the carelessness of humans.