A fishing hook can kill or permanently injure a bird. Please 
take the time to remove the hook and save a life.
If you have hooked a bird on a “live line”:
1) Reel the fishing line in slowly. Don't cut the line yet!
2) Ask someone to help you - they may have tools and extra hands you need. (Right: A seagull loses its foot to fishing line and a hook.)
3) If on a pier, landing nets may not reach to the water. A cast net or hoop net may be used. Hoop net: immerse mouth of the net just below surface, ropes showing. Throw a fish or bait in the water so the bird has to cross 3/4 over the submerged net to retrieve it. Pull the net up quickly guided by the live line at the same time so the bird does not jump out. Do not pull a bird up just by hook or monofilament line alone. 
4) If it is a pelican, grasp the bill in the middle.
When transporting a bird, place index finger in between upper and lower bill so the bird can breathe. It is especially important to secure the head firmly on birds whose bills are smaller than the pelican’s: cormorants, anhinga, loons, herons, egrets, gulls, or terns, as they are fast and have stronger bills. Grab these birds behind the eyes on the skull. Do not grab around the neck or step on the bird as a way of securing it.
5) Keeping hold of the head or bill, cover the bird’s head with a towel or large cloth. Try to use part of, or another covering as a barrier, between you and the bird. 
6) Restrain the bird by folding its wings flat against its body and holding securely. (One person holds the bird while the other works on it.)
7) Locate the hook, then push it through the skin until you see the barb. Cover the barb before cutting it, to prevent it from snapping off and injuring someone. Cut the barb off with a wire cutter then back the rest of the hook out. (Never pull a hook out without first removing the barb. Doing so could cause major injury to the bird.)
8) Look the bird over carefully making sure all fishing lines and hooks have been removed. Check for lines wrapped around limbs or wings.
9) If the bird has swallowed the hook or is seriously injured, take it to a nearest licensed rehabilitator. For a list of bird rehabbers call the Florida Wildlife Commission at 1-888-404-3922. If in the Tampa Bay area please call the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary (727-391-6211). Please report any abuse to birds or wildlife to the FWC.
10) To release: Check for traffic and place bird gently on land - letting go of the bill last, then back away. If on a boat, place the bird gently into the water. (Do not release it if it seems weak, ill, or cannot fly.) Remember to discard the hooks and cut-off fishing lines in the trash can - not in the water!
ADDITIONAL TIPS- REMOVE MONOFILAMENT LINE - Hooks and lines are the major cause of death to seabirds. A bird flying off or swimming away dragging a length of fishing line can get caught in vegetation or protruding objects . This could lead to a slow death by starvation or strangulation. Also, line embedded in the bird’s flesh acts as a tourniquet, thereby preventing the flow of blood to the affected area, possibly causing the loss of a wing or leg.
REMOVE FISH HOOKS - Hooks left in flesh can cause infection. We do not recommend feeding seabirds! Feeding wild birds near fishing areas can enhance their exposure to the dangers of hooks, lures and lines. The exposed bones of a large fish skeleton can puncture their stomachs causing internal infection and eventual death. Additionally, it often causes birds to become nuisance animals.
PLEASE DON’T LEAVE BAITED HOOKS HANGING OR MULTIPLE RODS UNATTENDED. One of the fastest ways to hook a bird!
