I can see the reason for…

I can see the reason for implementing a hunting season for this species but I disagree strongly with the parameters being proposed for that season. Those parameter are, in my view, dangerously permissive…so much so that the cormorant population could culled to the point where it can no longer play its natural role in the Ontario ecosystem. In an era where various invasive species are stressing that ecosystem, we need cormorants as a check on some of those invasive species. We should recognize that the species is integral to the current ecosystem, playing an essential role in controlling the populations of certain species below it in the food chain. Any cull initiative should therefore be approached with caution.

Parameters for the hunt should be conservatively at first, so as not to shock and potentially imperil the ecosystem to which these birds belong: these parameters can be adjusted later, if indicated, i.e., if studies of the initial hunt’s impact dictate such adjustment.

Specifically, the proposed bag limit seems far too high. As I see it, that limit should initially be set in the single-digit range…maybe 5/day (10 at the very most).

My other concern is that the proposed policy seems to set no possession limit…an invitation to wanton killing of these birds. An initial possession limit of 20 birds would, in my view, strike a reasonable balance between achieving the desired cull and protecting the well-being of this important species.