I wanted to cut the line so we could pass the hook through without more damage, but my friend thought that time was paramount and it would be faster to just unhook it. I was holding the bird's wings so it wouldn't flap around so much, so it wasn't really my call. The bird was surprisingly fragile and light as I held it. I released the bird and away he went, seemingly none the worse for it. I guess fish fins probably tear those pouches occasionally anyway, so it would be no worse than that.
Pelicans are huge birds.
Their wingspan is often six or seven feet, and their necks are at least a foot long. Their copious beaks are probably a foot long as well, and have a beautiful slope to them. Then they gracefully lift off and fly away. Sometimes seagulls follow them out to sea, I guess because sometimes they miss and only stun or wound their prey, or they loose their meals occasionally and the seagull gets an easy dinner. The gulls will land near the pelican and hope something turns up.