It really is reprehensible that such a program is state sponsored. Even in the effort to remove Snakeheads one isn't forced to waste a perfectly good food resource.
Double-crested cormorant removal
Started by
mattknepley
, Mar 30 2014 05:23 AM
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32 replies to this topic
#22
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#23
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:15 AM
No eating!? Well that makes absolutely no sense at all. As hard as I may try, I cannot view Cormorants in the same light as Silver Carp. They (Silver Carp) will also take you out when boating for what it's worth. Well, I'll eat some of my words and agree that "thrill killers" will show up for the great Carolina Ornithological murder fest.
#24
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:27 AM
They are also native which makes them very different from the carp issues.
#25
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:55 AM
And that is the primary reason I can't begin to correlate the two. I don't think this effort will be particularly popular resulting in little change in Cormorant population. Please keep us posted though.They are also native which makes them very different from the carp issues.
#26
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 08:22 AM
We do have a cormorant problem in Minnesota, usually overpopulated issues when the colony got too big and starts to depleting their food sources. They started to feeding on gamefish, including the popular walleyes. Our cormorant removal program is different from this program since it is not for everyone to participate in. The goal is keep their numbers low.
#27
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 08:26 AM
American shad and blueback herring, both species have depressed populations, migrate up the Santee Canal to the St. Stephens fish lift where they are passed into Lake Marion for continued migration to upriver spawning grounds. Since the fish are congregated, the cormorants come in by the hundreds to thousands for easy pickings.
#28
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 08:42 AM
Sounds like the problem could be solved quickly by a judicious application of high explosives. No dams = no need for fish ladders = a fair contest between the Cormorants and their prey = increased populations of the prey species.
#29
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 09:50 AM
The whole "cormorants are competing with us for fish!" thing has been going on for decades, and is still as stupid and ignorant as ever. It's fully as stupid as killing off wolves for the same general reason. The major reason this became a problem is that cormorant populations were severely depressed by the 1970s because of DDT contamination shutting down their reproduction. Once DDT by-products slowly flushed from aquatic systems, cormorant populations rebounded, and many people saw this as a sudden and unnatural problem since many people have a sense of history that's about 3 weeks long. This "new" problem could only be solved by intense human intervention, of course, and that brings us to where we are today. Feh.
#30
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:25 PM
I would agree if that "general reason" was the driving force. However my understanding is, like with the wolves, specific, case by case individual populations are evaluated for potential lethal management. Often the facts behind the process actually support lethal control. There's reams of data supporting it. Unfortunately, the Anti-Hunting lobby has latched onto lethal management, or "predator control", as an effective emotional spark to enflame the public against hunting. That is why so much of such work is done on the Down Low, both state and federally. When word does leak out, PETA and anti-hunters pump it up.The whole "cormorants are competing with us for fish!" thing has been going on for decades, and is still as stupid and ignorant as ever. It's fully as stupid as killing off wolves for the same general reason.
I don't think it's quite so simple. When cormorants rebounded from DDT, they did not return to pre-industrial natural conditions. Things was way different. My guess is, like herring gulls, cormorants benifited disproportionally from laws protecting birds, environment etc. I bet their breeding colonies exploded and their range expanded, just like herring gulls. Even native species can be "invasive" when populations reach unnatural levels. The feds quietly kill herring gulls by the hundreds, BTW, so they're not likely to worry about states doing the same.Once DDT by-products slowly flushed from aquatic systems, cormorant populations rebounded, and many people saw this as a sudden and unnatural problem since many people have a sense of history that's about 3 weeks long.
#31
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Posted 31 March 2014 - 09:04 PM
Cormorants were an important part of aquatic ecology before, and are now once again. And humans as always want to be the left hand of Jah and "manage" it. Some things never change.
#32
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Posted 01 April 2014 - 04:26 AM
That's an aspect of human nature that we all share. The only differences are ones of scale and/or reach. Planting a garden is a prime example.Cormorants were an important part of aquatic ecology before, and are now once again. And humans as always want to be the left hand of Jah and "manage" it. Some things never change.
#33
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Posted 01 April 2014 - 06:13 AM
Guys, I think this topic, while interesting, has run its course and is drifting away from fish and towards politics.
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