Students from Dowdell Middle Magnet School got a lesson in environmental stewardship Nov. 3 when they teamed up with Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful to help keep dangerous fishing line out of our waterways. ...more

November 11, 2009

Liz Vreeland with Save Our Seabirds Inc. rescued a young pelican from the South Skyway Fishing Pier after the bird got caught on a fishing hook. Vreeland says the holiday weekend will be busy at the pier. She rescued 500 birds from fishing line accidents last year. ...more

July 4, 2009

Manatee Sheriff's deputies say a Tampa man threw fishing weights and other objects at a boat off the South Skyway fishing pier Thursday. ...more

May 8, 2009

A manatee whose flipper was discovered entangled in fishing line more than two years ago but has finally been rescued. ...more

April 30, 2009

Some 2,300 volunteers fanned out across the region April 18 to participate in this year's Great American Cleanup. ...more

April 29, 2009

Some 2,300 volunteers fanned out across the region April 18 to participate in this year's Great American Cleanup. ...more

April 29, 2009

Nearly seven million pounds of debris was collected from waterways and shorelines around the world during a single day last year, illustrating that careless people are discarding trash just about everywhere, with much of it eventually finding an aquatic home, according to a report released today. ...more

March 10, 2009

Fishing is only one threat to Florida's most populous sea turtle. Oil rig spills make them sick. Plastic fishing line cuts their flippers. Boat propellers slice their bodies. They mistake garbage, especially plastic bags, for food. Heavy metals in their food sources and new diseases also cause illnesses in the aquatic reptiles. ...more

February 12, 2009

As a volunteer with the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Liz Vreeland has rescued songbirds and hawks. She has spent her share of time unraveling fishing line off perplexed pelicans at fishing piers. ...more

January 27, 2009

A volunteer with the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary rescued an eagle this afternoon in Seminole that appeared to have an injured wing, according to the organization. She is bringing the creature to the sanctuary's hospital in Indian Shores, said a volunteer there. ...more

January 26, 2009