I would like to submit my…

I would like to submit my strong support for the establishment of a cormorant hunting season in Ontario and the Great Lakes.

The scientific evidence as you have layed out can only be questioned by unrationale fears. Continue to stress the strong scientific evidence, because folks with unrational fears will try to discredit it.

If you are able to put a dollar figure on the amount of research money which has had to be spent addressing the impacts of cormorants, this might significantly help your cause. A hunting season to reduce impacts of cormorants would allow a large portion of this research money to be spent for other worthwhile causes. You should stress the ecomnomic impacts of cormorants more strongly, using dollar estimates, which is the only way to get the attention of policy makers. Include damage to sport fisheries, commercial fisheries, property damage assessments, fish farm losses, losses of stocked fish, and agency costs to study/control cormorants. I disagree with your statement that "the anticipated economic consequences of the proposal are expected to be neutral"; I cannot imagine any thing that would offset the reduction of financial losses already caused by cormorants.

Agian, great job on stepping up to make this proposal, and please continue to push it forward regardless of any detractors.