Fort Cormorant

[BP Swing]

This pic was taken 7/27/24 near Chippewa Bay and Singer Island. Its right on the border but I think it was Ontario water. This is absolutely ridiculous the amount of Cormorants on this island. (have no clue what the structure is/was) There was another island just west of this with about 50 Cormorants on it. I didnt count on this one but there is way too many. Does NY and Canada realize how many fish each one of these birds eat in 1 day? Its only a matter of time before the fishing will get tougher. It already is with a tournament every week nearly. Little Bass, Muskies, Walleyes, etc dont have a chance with these things hunting for food every day. Are any authorities aware of this and doing anything other than saying there's an open season? I have never seen anyone hunting these and I dont think the DEC is oiling eggs any more either. This is sad. You could smell this island at least 100 yards away downwind. Disgusting!

 

[reeleyz]

The DEC does still manage cormorants. They shoot quite a few of them and destroy their nets. The number of birds that they are allowed to kill is slowly increasing each year as well. 

 

This has the report for 2023 and the plan for 2024. The audio is not great. The report starts at around the 1:30:00 mark.

 

In 2023 they killed 2500 birds and I think he said they destroyed 600 - 700 nests.

 

 

[Shakemsam]

22 hours ago, BP Swing said:

This pic was taken 7/27/24 near Chippewa Bay and Singer Island. Its right on the border but I think it was Ontario water. This is absolutely ridiculous the amount of Cormorants on this island. (have no clue what the structure is/was) There was another island just west of this with about 50 Cormorants on it. I didnt count on this one but there is way too many. Does NY and Canada realize how many fish each one of these birds eat in 1 day? Its only a matter of time before the fishing will get tougher. It already is with a tournament every week nearly. Little Bass, Muskies, Walleyes, etc dont have a chance with these things hunting for food every day. Are any authorities aware of this and doing anything other than saying there's an open season? I have never seen anyone hunting these and I dont think the DEC is oiling eggs any more either. This is sad. You could smell this island at least 100 yards away downwind. Disgusting!

 

Man, that ain't nothing! You should have seen Gallou Island 30 years ago.

[carpcatcher]

You just have to make sure you don't get down wind of them

[Papp]

What are the legalities for shooting them?? Be kinda fun to boat around and shoot those critters!! Somehow I don’t think it’s that easy??

[Shakemsam]

6 hours ago, Papp said:

What are the legalities for shooting them?? Be kinda fun to boat around and shoot those critters!! Somehow I don’t think it’s that easy??

Ask these guys!

https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/09/nyregion/9-men-plead-guilty-to-slaughtering-cormorants-to-protect-sport-fishing.html

[BP Swing]

That article was from 1999. I think the laws have changed some.

[nasc620]

They are protected on the US side of the river.  Canada the last I knew without checking had a season for them

[Shakemsam]

On 8/4/2024 at 7:41 AM, BP Swing said:

That article was from 1999. I think the laws have changed some.

The law hasn't changed. The consequences most likely has.

[gobyslayer]

they are considered a migratory bird , as such these birds are a federally protected species, so before you start loading canons on your boats, double barrel shot guns and any other pea shooter you may have available to you.  you may want to look into the legality of shooting these birds. also i would highly recommend not shooting any of these birds in Canadian waters as I'm sure there fish and game  patrols would arrest you and confiscate your boat. while i too do not like the number of these birds in our waters maybe writing the ny dept of fish and game to complain would be the best avenue to take.  federal fines can be expensive and they are a federally protected species.  we are all supposed to be sportsman out fishing and as such we should respect all wildlife. we should also learn all we can before we act. hunting rules need to be followed just like our fishing rules. the ny dec has been acting to reduce the number of cormorants so maybe a friendly reminder to them that we are still seeing a large population of them would help.

Edited August 9 by gobyslayer

[Grady95]

If you are ever up here near Morristown/Brockville area of The River, have a look at The Three Sisters islands.  One of them is basically free of cormorants, that island having a residence on it.  The other two look like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.  They are devoid of vegetation, their color is now various shades of white bird poop and depending on where you are in relation to the breeze, you either don't smell them or you are literally gagging.

I applaud every effort being made by our DEC and their Canadian counterparts.  We all know there are laws protecting certain wildlife and we do our best to abide by them.  At some point, I would hope that the authorities come to recognize that this problem has completely outsized their efforts at a solution and begin to enlist the help of the citizens that hold this precious resource we call The River so dear.

We've lost control of zebra mussels, we've lost control of gobies, we're soon to lose control of snakeheads.  There's not much we as fishermen and outdoorsmen can do about those but we could conceivably help control the scourge of cormorants.  I hope they recognize that someday soon.