Double-crested cormorants...

[rogerdodger]

good plan IMO to reduce the excessively large population of these birds that feed on huge numbers of juvenile salmon...

"The colony of double-crested cormorants on East Sand Island near the mouth of the Columbia consumes about 11 million juvenile salmon per year as it migrates through the river to the Pacific Ocean. The fish are listed as endangered.

Officials say despite reductions in nesting habitat, the cormorant population has continued to thrive. It has increased from 100 breeding pairs in 1989 to about 15,000 breeding pairs today. That makes it the largest cormorant colony in western North America, representing over 40 percent of the region's cormorant population.

Now federal officials are proposing to reduce the colony to 5,600 breeding pairs by killing half of them, trying to scare off the others and taking their eggs. Once the target colony size is attained, the Corps also is proposing to modify the terrain of East Sand Island to inundate some nesting habitat."

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/sto...t/2014/06/13/salmon-eating-seabirds/10416987/

 

[Irishrover]

I was out claming on Gearheart Beach this morning. I looked up and saw serveral huge flocks of those ugly birds. It reminded me of the large flocks of Canadian Honker I see from time to time. I hope they are able to thin the herd. I understand they taste like chicken......

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

They actually built an artificial island down here at Fern Ridge Lake in a effort of trying to relocate that colony of birds from the Columbia. That obviously didn't work lol.

 

[JonT]

Open season, ODFW!

 

[eugene1]

Those birds prefer salmon and steel smolts not bass I guess? LOL

They actually built an artificial island down here at Fern Ridge Lake in a effort of trying to relocate that colony of birds from the Columbia. That obviously didn't work lol.

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

Those birds prefer salmon and steel smolts not bass I guess? LOL

Yeah with the number of fish in the Columbia compared to fern ridge its easy to see why it hasnt worked. Not enough crappie, bass, and carp for the birds.

 

[TTFishon]

They actually built an artificial island down here at Fern Ridge Lake in a effort of trying to relocate that colony of birds from the Columbia. That obviously didn't work lol.

That's funny. Who cares about Fern Ridge. It's just crap water anyway full of stupid carp and bass. lol A fishery is a fishery in my mind. I think they're a cool looking bird, but yeah, there's way too many of them.

 

[BJConner]

USACE should be able to trap a 1,000 big rats within a couple of blocks of their Portland office. Egg loving rats would discourage the heck out cormorants.

 

[coyo7e]

Maybe you could train the cormorants to catch fish for you, like those Chinese guys do by tying a string around the bird's neck so it can't swallow the fish and has to come back to regurgitate it into the fisherman's basket? :bleh:

I'm not a big fan of them though, they're certainly everywhere. I can't believe that they'd stay at Fern Ridge either, as was said there is just not enough fish to encourage them to stay around.

 

[BJConner]

They are a problem in a lot of places. In North Dakota you had to get to some lake within 3 days after the hatchery truck or the fish would be gone. That was 25 years ago, it's supposed to be worse now.