Cormorants

[T.C.]

Found this article thought some folks here might be interested.

http://www.900chml.com/news/news_local.cfm...=news_local.cfm

[smerchly]

Hey TC......I mentioned to a buddy not too long ago that it would be great if the cormorants are eating gobies . They would have to pick them off the bottom and they are hard to see as they can camouflage themselves with the bottom . But I have seen them swallow a 10" trout a Port Dalhousie and also saw them feasting on perch in the marina . I think they do a lot more harm than good ......Thanks for that bit of info......

[Guest Slyatv]

I've Noticed that in Lake Simcoe 'they' are feeding in Perch areas and Also on the shoals frequented by Bass fishermen ..We have no Gobie or Smelt in numbers to successfully sustain any Birds. During the Spring Perch run We have had to "Scare off" the black menace so we don't 'catch' them with a Minnow and hook.. Then there's the Smelt run.....What Smelt Run ??!?!??! ! ! Last year there were more 9-14 inch Trout minnows as such, being swallowed up by these creayures by the dozens ... My personal opinion is that they should be 'fed' the right bait to slow their population growth .Rice Lake and Lake Joseph both have been Ravaged ! ! .. It's great to hear that the Birds 'studied' had mostly the Smaller fishes but that was a small number of birds gathered in one area.. it would make sence that they would all have the same food in them....If these guys came up here they would have a different result for sure...

[ROB MCINTOSH]

Ya Right: I would like to see that study and to see how much time they spent out of the classroom and went out on the shore and picked up bird S#$%(POOH POOH) You have to watch these smart students and professors that say they work for the gouv. But when you challenge them you find out the are TREEBUGGERS in and don't work they just preach, and I have seen the same thing in port and on erie 12'' bass are just a perfect meal and not just 1, 4or5 then they go sit in a nice green tree and S#$%(POOHPOOH) All over it and kill the tree then go back and fill up again IT'S LIKE A 24 HOUR SMORG these birds are just an eating machine and don't let any one tell you any differant KILL THE B#$%^&$ and thats all that has to be done. What ever happened to the form we all signed to put them into the black crow catagorie so the could be shot, Oh wait that had to go before the fiberals and it got hidden along with the billions for the gun redgistry Catfish

[Guest FisherNick]

We need to get a permit for hunters to kill them off by the thousands. A full out slaughter of these birds is the only way to handle the issue.

Who knows the tories might be more proactive about this issue.

[Guest canadadude]

It is true that the commorants love eating the gobies since they are easy prey because of there great numbers in the great lakes!! However when perch and other gamefish are schooled up to spawn and are vulnerable prey I do believe the commorants do kill and eat large numbers!! The problem I see with this study is that perhaps the birds were sampled when they were feeding on gobies and smelt because of the lack of sportfish in the area at the time!! I to have wittnessed cormorrants eating perch in the area marinas!The other big problem with these birds is how they destroy the habitat surrounding the lakes,I've seen them wipe out forrested areas and ruin the waters surrounding these areas! I know it is going to be a big problem to control this species but somthing has to be done

[Guest BrownBomber]

Professor Jim Quinn and his students examined almost 11 kilograms of cormorant vomit to see what they had been eating.

He says there were remains of one salmon or trout.

First of all 11 kilograms (25 pounds) is not a lot of vomit to be examining - I don't think this is enough to make a conclusion. Health science studies often require thousands of people to be considered valid and these guys get away with 11 kg...

One would also have to question the methods in which they collected the vomit. If they just randomly collected bird vomit it isn't representative of the whole bird population. The crap in any animal's stomach doesn't remain there for long so the bird could have very well digested the fish before they collected the vomit. Ideally, they should be tagging birds and following them over a period of time. The methods aren't described in the article, but it would be interesting to find out. Another thing to think of is that there might not have been a lot of bass, trout or perch in the area when the study was conducted.

Off the top of my head, what I would have done was examine the bird poop for trout, bass or perch DNA sequences. I think that might provide a better indication.

[ROB MCINTOSH]

Cormorants are rampant and need to be controlled! They will decimate the local fisheries with no problem. Stocking efforts? Forget about it, unless the stocked fish are 2 lbs +.

If you are a private land owner and your land is being populated by nesting cormorants, you can contact MNR to have them, the birds, (permanently) removed from your property.

Here is the article, just in case it "disappears". Scholarly journals and write ups always have references to other scholarly or scientific sources. So in essence, this article holds no water and should not be taken seriously.

So what Tommy my post means you should take it seriously Oh wait you prob didn't read my post so now you can say don't take it seriously Catfish

[steve-hamilton]

i have personally watched them taking up to 12" bass out of Hamilton harbour, where they apparently did the study...

wish they would talk about their destroying of trees due to their acidic doo-doo.

[Guest canadadude]

Unfortunately the commorant issue is a big problem since there are few control methods out there except all out slaughter !! There are people in our society that don't agree with the slaughter of any spiecies and perhaps in way that can be agood thing!! The other methods of cotroll don't seem to work eg: Oiling the eggs dosn't seem to hurt the population that exsists and soon they just lay new eggs!!! The Commorant problem is getting worse and I'm affraid and all out slaughter is going to happen soon!! It has happened in certain areas of eastern Ontario but I relly don't know if the problems were solved or if other populations moved in!! I never heard if the trees and damage has come back

[T.C.]

Even if the odds are that only one in ten is eating trout and salmon, when the sky turns black as a flock of thousands and thousands fly by i don't like those odds.

I can't believe the ministry dosen't see that they have quickly become a species out of control.

[JAMIE]

The people that did this study should know all about looking and doo doo becauase there heads are are so far up there F*&*$@ arses they couldnt tell the differnce between a gobie and a bass.Why dont they hire people like us for this kind of stuff and leave the EGG HEADS in the lab it makes me sick.Sorry but this issue really bothers me.

[carp-starter]

As far as I am concerned, that study was simply - "put garbage in, get garbage out". The sample of 25 lbs was too small and it represented only fish that were present at the time the study was made.

So they do not eat trout? What do they eat when there is only trout present. Am I to assume they become vegetarian? But Peta will accept the study.

According to the Ontario government, there are about 600,000 cormorants in Ontario. Each eats every day about 1 pound of fish up to about 12 inches long (max). This would be a lot of fish eaten.

There should be an open season for cormorants during certain times of the year.

carp-starter

[Guest Woodsie]

Over the years out east I've seen individual crows chowing down heavy on outward migrating steelhead smolts.

[steve-hamilton]

{ Taken from The Manitoulin Expositor.}

"MNR biologists Dr. John Casselman Confirmed in scientific information that there is a very direct connection between large cormorant populations and declining fish stocks."

"The results of the five year study of cormorants by MNR scientists in the area of Manitoulin Island and Eastern Georgian Bay clearly support what the OFAH localclubs and anglers have been saying for years that too many cormorants have a profound negative impact on local fish stocks."

Dr. Terry Quinney,OFAH provincial manager of Fish and Wildlife Services "Oiling of eggs has a temporary effect, but the science clearly shows that oiling alone won't solve the problem.Without resorting to other more direct means of controlling the spread of these birds, the government will be signing a death warrant for the fish stocks in many areas of the province".

"The MNR can't say the scientific evidence is not there, because what was

presented at our meeting was their own science." "The information and figures provided are very clear that a cull of cormorants is required".

A statement released by the UFGCM says, any interested person, group or municipality should immediately write to Minister David Ramsay and voice support for vigorous action to meet this scientifically proven threat".

I really hope the Gov goes through with the cull...shhhhh don't tell Paul&Yoko or they will be out protesting like they did at the seal hunt. Tarby.

[Guest Big Bass Rich]

I've seen the cormorants decimate the entire bass population in one of the local ponds. It used to be one of the greatest ponds to fish for bass, now it is baron of just about all fish from what I've seen. There may have been other factors but I'm certain the cormorants were the main one. It doesnt take long to eat every small bass on a little pond!

[Guest 3bastardsfishing]

I agree there should be a year round open season for shooting cormorants. As a member of the newly formed P.E.T.A (People Eating Tasty Animals) I don't think spraying a few eggs here and there is enough to stop the decimation these birds cause. They are out of control and need to be heavily culled. I think they would make great target practice.

[knightfisher]

I agree they should be culled.

Was down past lock 1 a while back and noticed

a few cormorants in the water and some in the

trees. Didn't know webbed feet birds could land

in trees. Well most of them. One had apparently

tried to land on a branch, slipped and got his neck

caught in a lower Y branch. Hung it self.