Cormorants

[KING ME]

Hunting Nuisance Birds

Jim Birchard, Bayshore Broadcasting Corporation

It could soon be open season of Cormorants all year long in Ontario.

An Eastern Ontario Liberal MPP has introduced a bill at the legislature that would allow people to shoot the nuiscance birds at any time.

Ernie Parsons says in his riding alone, Prince Edward Hastings, which includes the Bay of Quinte, the Cormorant population has balooned.

He says 10 years ago there were about 300 breeding pairs but that has soared to more than 75 thousand birds today.

Its estimated in the entire Great Lakes Basin there more than a 500 thousand Cormorants that consume more than 42 million pounds of fish each year.

Parsons says these birds are causing a serious erosion of fish stocks and having a negative impact on water quality and the environment.

He says some islands in Lake Ontario and in the Manitoulin area are burnt out shells because of the pollution caused by excessive bird droppings.

Parsons says currently the bird are protected and his amendment to the Fish and Wildlife act would put the Cormorant in the same category as the common crow where they could be shot year round.

His bill already has received first reading in the Legislature, and he is confident it will receive all party support so a serious effort can be made to bring the Cormorant population under control.

[Yankee Troller]

Its about time! We can only hope that soon we will be able to do the same here!

[anewton]

I'll have to find some way to rig up a tripod mount on the front of the boat, for my shotgun!

[Yankee Troller]

I might have to get a non-resident hunting license!

[Guest ReelDiel]

roadrash..yeah i like the shirts they were selling in support of the capts.

little gallo (sp.?) island looks like a barren wasteland from those damn things.