Cormorant Cull Petition (1 Viewer)

[Kits]

Article and video here.

A petition calling for more cormorants to be culled has gathered 16,000 signatures and is being handed to the Fisheries Minister.

Anglers say an increase in the birds is affecting fish stocks.

But many birdwatchers and nature lovers enjoy seeing cormorants sunning themselves in treetops near lakes and rivers after diving for fish.

I found this most disturbing.

 

[NAB]

I signed it.

 

[Trystan]

Anglers say an increase in the birds is affecting fish stocks.

I have a theory that anglers are affecting fish stocks, anyone want to sign my petition??

 

[Irish Kite]

Cormorants like foxes etc. are overpopulating due to lack of natural predators. Experience elsewhere in Europe has shown that the return of Sea-Eagles has curbed Cormorant numbers. I think the solution to this issue is therefore obvious.

 

[Espen]

I have a theory that anglers are affecting fish stocks, anyone want to sign my petition??

:clap:

 

[Espen]

I signed it.

why?

 

[Richard Klim]

I have a theory that anglers are affecting fish stocks, anyone want to sign my petition??

I would suggest that anglers are the only significant group taking a serious stand on conserving river systems and fish stocks in Britain. Few birders take any interest.

 

[dantheman]

I would suggest that anglers are the only significant group taking a serious stand on conserving river systems and fish stocks in Britain. Few birders take any interest.

Interesting angle ...

(Assume these days that very few fish are actually removed, must being put back, apart from the odd salmon/trout? Carp?)


Bringing WT Eagles into the picture sounds good ...

 

[Espen]

Bringing WT Eagles into the picture sounds good ...

yes , cull will only be short term, so expensive and pointless(and disturbs other birds), bring wt eagles back and the problem's solved

 

[Tiraya]

I have a theory that anglers are affecting fish stocks, anyone want to sign my petition??

This made my day.

 

[captaincarot]

I would suggest that anglers are the only significant group taking a serious stand on conserving river systems and fish stocks in Britain. Few birders take any interest.

which is why they are attempting to use cormorants as scapegoats, the stance of angling on cormorants is little different to that of grouse moors on hen harriers.

they call for cormorants to be killed, yet cormorants are not the cause of declining fish numbers on anything more than a local scale.

cormorants are not at unnaturally high levels, they are returning to natural levels after years of being persecuted.

britains rivers are in an absolutely appaling state, because of people, abstraction, eutrophycation and cannalisation have caused them to be little more than useless as a habitat for fish.

we need to stop cutting weed, straightening channels, concreting banks, removing obstructions. there is no where left for fish to hide from birds, so they get wiped out. that is neither the birds or the fish fault, it is ours for removing all the refuges

 

[Adam W]

Baring in mind another recent pettition 16,000 is an awful lot,if an anti Cormorant cull petition was set up no way would it get anywhere near 16,000 signatures not saying that makes it right but you cant argue with how the numbers reflect the majority opinion,I'd guess there's a lot more anglers out there than birders.

For the record I dont really fish(done abit of sea fishing years ago) and have no particular feelings either way on this I was just supprised to see how many signatures the petition had.

 

[Richard Klim]

britains rivers are in an absolutely appaling state, because of people, abstraction, eutrophycation and cannalisation have caused them to be little more than useless as a habitat for fish.

we need to stop cutting weed, straightening channels, concreting banks, removing obstructions. there is no where left for fish to hide from birds, so they get wiped out. that is neither the birds or the fish fault, it is ours for removing all the refuges

Absolutely true, but as I said, anglers have a much greater interest in improving our rivers than birders!

Birders always seem keen to demonise other users of our countryside, most of whom are equally interested in conservation.

 

[Robin Edwards]

Richard, I'm not disagreeing but I've been an angler since I was a small boy and the biggest change I have seen is a shift towards fishing over-stocked lakes and fisheries where it's difficult sometimes not to catch specimen weight fish in some cases, almost by accident.

These artificially stocked lakes and pools are very different from our rivers. Where I live the Cormorant and early wintering Osprey we had were'nt feeding on the river but where the glut of fish had been placed. The river has plenty of fish but they are much harder to catch.

 

[fugl]

Speaking of demonization, is there any evidence that fish stocks in British rivers are being depleted by cormorants? As far as I know, there's no reason to think that cormorants do much damage here in Reno, though good luck trying to convince the local fisherman of that!

 

[MJB]

Richard, I'm not disagreeing but I've been an angler since I was a small boy and the biggest change I have seen is a shift towards fishing over-stocked lakes and fisheries where it's difficult sometimes not to catch specimen weight fish in some cases, almost by accident.

Robin, very much to the point, for this action permits faster transmission of diseases and infections, and the faster evolution of disease microbes.

In a similar way, fish farms have the additional problem that breeding at artificially high rates causes intestinal flora to evolve faster than in wild populations, so when these organisms escape into wild populations, the chances are high that wild fish are maladapted to them; this may reduce wild fish breeding condition.
MJB

 

[Peewit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17123858

For my tuppence worth about the video of many views about the Cull.

Some comments to me are a little far fetched example: the fish getting eaten in your back garden by Cormorants, Otters...never heard of that before as Herons are well known to do that.

Shame on Chris Tarrant for supporting the cause..as I thought he was an avid wildlife supporter for TV programme 'Wildlife SOS' supporter of Simon Cowell's project to look after injured wild animals

Regards
Kathy
x

 

[Twite]

Whether anyone disagrees of not, fishery owners have every right to call for a cull of cormorants. They impact their businesses, their livelihood, the income they need to feed their families, educate their children, provide employment etc.

Face the facts, pests need to be controlled, whether it's bullfinches eating fruit blossoms, pigeons in cereals or rabbits and lettuces. It's easy to criticize others from the comfort of your chair but if your means of making a living was threatened by one pest or another and you weren't prepared to do something about it, well, you'd just be an idiot then.

 

[dantheman]

But presumably there are lots of other options other than culling - which should surely be a last resort??

(eg restricting access to such predators, scaring tactics, allowing a natural loss as part of a more relaxed attitude, government payments for losses ...)

 

[Bird_Bill]

There are several groups here that campaign against cormorants and anhingas too. Often throw various other fisheaters into the mix to heighten the drama. Aqua-culture folks are the most organized and well financed. They dont use petition initatives, go straight to the top and get the best politicians money can buy. Their tactics are usually rhetorical, they'll shoot for the moon (birds) knowing its not going to happen. Government subsidies are the end result, its nothing more than biological extortion. Could easily remedy with non-lethal means, profit and margin drives all.

Also, there are the tournament fisher-people. Threat fish-eater's present's to them is second only to outboard motors rated less than 210 hp.

Perhaps most amazing thing is the contradictory nature of each group. The first is responsible for the introduced catastophe that asiatic carp are. While the second group sits in their bass boats and patiently watches their own fishery being destroyed (by fish!), without comment or effort to prevent.