I've been seeing increasing numbers of these waterfowl vermin the last 5 years on all the big lakes and resevoirs I fish,(Clinton Res., Merril Creek, Round Valley, Wawayanda LK. I see no value in their existence except to decimate fish populations. Cormorants being waterfowl, is it true they are protected to some extent? Maybe it's time to change that regulation. We as fishermen pay good $ on licences and trout stamps which the state uses to grow and stock the fish which these eating machines feast on.Maybe we need a spring waterfowl season. Just my opinion,Lou.
Unfortunately that's exactly the case http://www.animallaw.info/articles/dduscormorantconflict.htmI followed how they were being handled up on Onieda lake in NY since I have quite a few friends who fish it and were involved and IMHO opinion it was a joke. They did nothing to really combat the overpopulation other than try to keep them from staying on Onieda. Basically all they did was tried to make it unfavorable for them to stay so they'd move onto other lakes to feed
Actually a good friend of mine did that work on oneida for years. He got to kill tens of thouasands of comorants, and destroyed even more eggs and nests. The government had them killing as many birds as they could. Problem was that even more would come and take their place.
the few guys I knew that participated where told they weren't allowed to kill them and all they could do was try to scare them off...maybe since they were volunteers they were told different
Was it Oneida or some other place years ago that someone went on a shooting spree, killing a bunch of cormorants/stomping their nests (the numbers were in the thousands), they got caught, not long after that, the DEC determined that the numbers did need thinning and began to spray the nests/eggs to reduce the numbers. Sometimes the wrong actions that are taken are necessary to open the eyes of some that believe no action is required.