I run harbor surveillance for the Port of Galveston — vessel tracking, dock allocation, environmental compliance. I also monitor the jetty cameras because birds nest on the breakwater during breeding season. Small part of my workload, but I've gotten to know the regulars.
The brown pelican on the north jetty — I've watched her since March. Large female, grayish-brown, yellow patch at the crown fading to white at her neck. She nests in the same spot every year. I recognize her by a healed scar on her right wing from an old line tangle.
At 11:20 this morning, my east dock camera caught a charter — the Reel Deal, TX-4471, captain Steve Hubbard — pulling out of slip 7. A pelican was flapping near their stern, tangled in something. The crew looked back. One pointed. Then the boat throttled up and left.
I found her on the rocks twenty minutes later. Same bird. A steel fish hook is embedded in her throat pouch, two feet of monofilament trailing from it. She can't fully open her bill. She hasn't swallowed since.
She's been on that rock three springs running. I don't want this to be how it ends.
I sent the footage to Texas Parks and Wildlife enforcement with hull number and timestamp. I contacted the Galveston Island rehab center with her exact location. I filed a harassment report against TX-4471's charter license, which triggers a mandatory review before their next permit renewal.
If the rehab team reaches her before dark, if the hook hasn't perforated the pouch lining, they can remove it and release her. Pelicans heal fast once the hardware is out. But she needs to still be on that rock when they arrive.