I have worked with the…

I have worked with the Ministry Natural Resources in the past on a Fisheries Management plan for both Lake Nipissing and Zone 11 in a consultative process. The process did spend some time in discussions about the Double Crested Cormorant and its effect on fish species and habitat of Lake Nipissing. Various presentations from stakeholders suggested that this bird was causing a reduction in walleye population and threatened habitat. We implemented more broadly based fisheries management plan that focused on spawning stock, partnering with First Nations and protecting juvenile fish in 20 year fisheries management plan implemented in 2013. The results have seen a reduction or stabilization in the double breasted cormorant population, an enhancement in spawning walleye stock and improvement in the overall fisheries in the Lake. In my opinion this shows that proper management of fisheries and habitat are effective means of managing the cormorant and not the wholesale slaughter of a species.
I am also concerned about hunters shooting Double Crested Cormorants throughout the summer potentially wounding or killing swimmers, canoeists, fisherman, cottagers, etc., accidentally. No other game is allowed to be hunted during these busy periods on our waterways. Killing birds in this way is not a sport or game hunting and will attract a very unsavory group of hunters who can kill up to 50 birds a day, leaving them to rot, resulting in serious damage to the environment and those actually using the waterways of our province. I am firmly against this proposal.