I remember Ontario outdoors…

I remember Ontario outdoors without cormorants, but with plenty of fish. For five decades I have been enjoying fishing and boating and camping along the Georgian Bay coastline and the French River. During this period, I have witnessed an ever-increasing number of cormorants and an ever-decreasing number of game fish and other fish. I am no expert, but the correlation is quite obvious to me. And I believe the cormorant is here because it basically eliminated its food sources where it came from.

Fishing is almost not worth the time and monetary effort any more. A significant portion of our heritage has been destroyed.

I also witnessed, and am still witnessing, the destruction of the environment these birds have caused and are causing. Tommy Thompson Park is not the only place where cormorants killed all trees and other vegetation, but certainly an instructive example. And how many fish does each bird eat, each day, every day of the year?

I fully support an open season on cormorants in Ontario. Cormorants may not be the only reason for the decline of the fisheries, but they certainly contribute significantly. That, plus the fact that they don't belong to Ontario, is enough reason for me to wish them extinction.