I recently heard John…

I recently heard John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, interviewed about creating a hunting season for Double-Crested Cormorants (CBC, Ontario Today, December 21). His lack of knowledge was notable.

He hadn't bothered to find out the limits and seasons for other game birds. He didn't have any particular reason for allowing 50 cormorants/day per hunter from March 15 to December 31, which includes the breeding season. He merely said that they had to float a number to make a proposal. Allowing 14,000/year for each hunter without research to back up the number is irresponsible.

To our eyes, cormorants may be "destroying" the environment and may be perceived as a "nuisance." But neither of these things relate to sustainability; basing hunting decisions on them isn't sound conservation management. Cormorants are effective at controlling invasive species of fish and don't target game fish specifically. Local tree death occurs but this is shown to increase the diversity of habitat and insects, increasing biodiversity that contributes to ecological resiliency.

The timing on this is also unfortunate. Why now? The population of cormorants has recently stabilized and even declined slightly after having been almost wiped out by DDT. 18 years is a very short time in terms of ecology. Why not wait, get the appropriate information, then make a decision based on real data? Maybe the population will stabilize on its own. Maybe the population "explosion" is just part of a natural recovery. We just don't know yet.

I'm also concerned about a hunting season that overlaps with other seasonal recreational activities near cormorant habitats. This create a safety risk for people who are boating, swimming, bird watching, etc. Shouldn't recreational users, who bring significant economic benefits, be allowed to enjoy lakes without worrying about being accidentally shot? I live in an area where deer and waterfowl hunting occurs in the fall and know that my usual activities (walking, canoeing, etc.) are not safe during the hunting seasons, despite the fact that the majority of hunters are responsible.