Roughly 80 seabirds have been found tangled in fishing line, hooks and lures along La Jolla's coast since April, with the problem spiking sharply during summer, according to the nonprofit Wildlife Jewels.

The group's volunteers documented the entanglements between April 1 and Aug. 19, with nearly 76% concentrated at Point La Jolla, founder and executive director Azi Sharif told the San Diego Union-Tribune. California brown pelicans, double-crested cormorants and Brandt's cormorants are the species most affected.

The numbers climbed steeply as summer crowds arrived: six entanglements in April, 13 in May, 14 in June, then 29 in July alone. July was the worst month. August's partial count stood at 18 through Aug. 19.

In one recent observation, volunteers spotted 10 Brandt's cormorants entangled at the same time.

"Every single day, we go looking for these birds and we see more," Sharif said.

What counts as entanglement

Wildlife Jewels defines an entanglement as any case where a bird is visibly caught, wrapped, hooked or tethered by fishing gear in a way that restricts movement, feeding or the ability to fly or swim. That includes line wrapped around a wing, leg, beak or body, or a hook lodged in the bird.

Monitoring zone and limits

Sharif, who holds a PhD and has monitored La Jolla's coastal wildlife since 2021, said the team patrols almost daily from just south of the Children's Pool to The Cave Store. She called the 80-case figure a minimum count because cliffs north of La Jolla Cove, tide-pool areas and shoreline below the bluffs are difficult or impossible to access, meaning additional entangled birds likely went undocumented.

When a bird is spotted in a location where rescue isn't safely possible, particularly around Point La Jolla's cliffs and rocks, volunteers continue tracking that individual in hopes of finding it somewhere accessible for rescue.

How residents can help

Wildlife Jewels runs an EYES (Engage Your Eyes for Sea Life) program with a La Jolla chapter that trains community members to spot distressed wildlife and report findings to licensed rehabilitators, lifeguards and animal services.

Sharif urged residents to watch for thin, nearly invisible fishing line on birds. The line is hard to see. She asked anyone who spots a potentially entangled bird to file a report at wildlifejewels.org/report-wildlife.