The Service will host ten separate meetings at sites across the country to discuss the scope of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be developed to guide the agencys management decisions involving cormorants. A notice detailing the times and locations of these meetings was published today in the Federal Register.
The EIS will evaluate the species status, impacts on other resources, and potential management strategies. The document will also consider the administrative, logistical, and socio-economic impacts of various management strategies.
"Conflicts between cormorants and humans are increasing in many parts of the country, and we need to hear from the people who are most affected as we develop a long-term strategy for managing these birds," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "The scoping process provides an opportunity for the public to help guide this strategy.
Cormorants have been federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act since 1972, when they were given protection after their populations dropped precipitously due to use of the pesticide DDT, human persecution and the overall declining health of many ecosystems, especially that of the Great Lakes. Today, the population is at historic highs, due in large part to the presence of ample food in their summer and winter ranges, federal and state protection, and reduced contaminant levels.
From 1970-1991, in the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the number of double-crested cormorant nests increased from 89 to 38,000, with an average annual increase of 29 percent. By 1997, the Great lakes population had reached approximately 93,000 pairs. The total population of double-crested cormorants in the U.S. and Canada has most recently been estimated at more than 1 million birds.
The population resurgence of double-crested cormorants has led to increasing concern about the birds impact on commercial and recreational fishery resources. Cormorants and other waterbirds such as pelicans and herons can have adverse impacts on fish populations when fish are concentrated in artificially high numbers - conditions such as those found at fish farms, hatcheries, and sites where hatchery-reared fish are released.
Because cormorants are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, their nests and eggs cannot be disturbed, and birds cannot be captured or killed unless a depredation permit is obtained from the Service. Since 1972, depredation permits allowing the take of double-crested cormorants have been authorized on a case-by-case basis, usually when negative impacts on aquaculture stocks or private property have been demonstrated.
In 1998, the Service issued a Depredation Order permitting take of double-crested cormorants at aquacultural facilities and state-operated hatcheries in 13 states in response to economic losses caused by cormorant depredation. Federal take permits (State permits are also required) for birds causing depredation problems at commercial fish hatcheries and aquaculture operations located outside the 13 states are typically issued only after non-lethal methods of control have been shown to be ineffective. The U.S. Department of Agricultures Wildlife Services program, a cooperating agency in the development of the EIS, is responsible for documenting economic losses and for recommending possible bird-control measures.
The effect of cormorants on fish populations in open waters is less clear than at aquaculture facilities. Studies conducted worldwide have shown that while cormorants can, and often do, take fish species that are valued in commercial and sport fisheries, those species usually make up a very small proportion of the birds diet. Those studies suggest that cormorants are not a significant source of mortality affecting fish populations.
More information about cormorants can be found on the Service web site at: http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues/cormorant/cormorant.html
Ten public scoping meetings will be held in the following cities, at the announced locations and times:
