In Wellington a small group of volunteers are trying to save injured birds, many of whom are caught in lost, broken or abandoned fishing equipment.
Hayden James started Lower Hutt Kereru Rescue two years ago when he noticed a growing number of Facebook posts about Kererū injuring themselves, mostly after flying into windows.
The group has grown, with James and a group of volunteers rescuing all kinds of birds. Recently James' focus has been on seagulls on the Petone foreshore, many injured by stray fishing hooks.
But on Monday morning the call went out for help - a pied shag was caught in a fishing net in East Harbour Regional Park's Lake Kohangatera.
"We got note of a shag that had fishing line around its head and neck, also a hook out the side of its beak. We came out yesterday in an attempt to capture it which unfortunately was unsuccessful."
The group has been around for two years and has carried out many similar rescues.
Pictures sent to Hayden of the shag show fishing net tangled around its neck. The more it moves the more it is at risk of strangling itself.
Rob Wilson from dive organisation Ghost Fishing said they come across a lot of fishing gear in the water, and they see a lot of seabirds entangled in gear.
In 2019 Hayden James rescued about 12 birds from entanglement. There have been three this year already.
The team use large nets and trek the steep shore of the lake to rescue the bird. If the shag is seriously injured, James usually takes the birds to places like Wellington Zoo for treatment.
The Pied Shag is classed as nationally vulnerable. One of their biggest threats is fishing nets and lines.
The team has to be careful in rescues, as native birds are not allowed to be touched unless they are injured.
James said quite often people don't know the rules for being around native birds - or the best way to help them if they're injured.
"We get a few messages about people who've found birds and that sort of thing. When we say we'll pick them up and take them to a rehab centre or the zoo, they say 'no we'll look after them', and unfortunately quite a few people aren't well-equipped to look after birds which results in them passing away or being poorly cared for."
