I have spent many years…

I have spent many years transporting biologists around the Eastern end of Lake Ontario to a number of islands off Kingston, Ont. , specifically to study Cormorants. I have counted nests; and chick numbers; banded birds; measured and weighed them; utilized radio telemetry tracking, etc.
I own property on the Lake and am currently watching to determine whether they are establishing nests, (and eventually colonies) on the property. I am in the line of fire.
While Cormorants transit the property daily I have not witnessed established birds.

In my 40+ years on the water, specifically in and around this area I have seen a population explosion of Cormorants. I have seen the damage they can do to property, (The Brother's; Snake; The Spectacles, etc.).

Do I support a "cull",....Absolutely!

My preference is to oil eggs,...but I think numbers, (of nests); manpower; and environmentalists all contribute to nixing this as viable solution.

So, do I support a "hunt"? Well, first, lets call it for what it really is!
A method of eradication or extermination. A system in which individuals, (landowners, fishermen, hunters; properly licenced of course!) are used as the tools to deal with the "problem".
It really is passing the responsibility and therefore the dirty work of dealing with the problem from MNRF onto individual citizens. Not an ideal solution.

Secondly, and quite honestly, this is not hunting as an environmentally sustainable activity. Have you eaten one? I have. And its something I will never do again! No one is going to use these birds for anything more than compost. And at 50 birds/day it is a certainty!

So, again, I do support a reduction in their numbers,.... wholeheartedly, YES. But let us call it what it really is and not sugarcoat the process.
We have left it unchecked for too long and now we are reaping the bitter results.

PR