I have no strong opinions on…

I have no strong opinions on a hunting season for the cormorants in general. As a citizen who owns a cottage on Big Rideau Lake (Rideau canal system) in Eastern Ontario, certainly, we`d like to see their numbers go down, but we can also live with the colony that is currently existing on the lake.

my only real concern relates to safety. The idea of waterskiing, swimming, boating around hunters shooting these birds raises a bit of a safety concern. Thus, I would think a limit on the hours of the day during the summer or similar restrictions during boating season might be a good idea.

For example, on Big Rideau Lake, the cormorants largely gather on one very small island and there is a major boat mooring area in the immediate vicinity on Colonel By island for travellers of the Rideau System as well as local boaters. The idea of hunters shooting the birds while all these boaters are around seems like very contradictory uses of the lake and represents a bit of a safety issue in my mind.

If issues like this were addressed, I would likely have no strong objection to a cormorant hunting but would want to ensure they remain a part of the ecosystem.