I have reviewed the proposal…

I have reviewed the proposal to establish a hunting season for double-crested cormorants in Ontario and do not support it for the following reasons.

1. My main concern is the complete lack of science provided in this proposal. In fact, the only suggestion of science states that the population may have stabilized or has declined. There is no summary showing cormorant population trends, diets, impacts to fisheries or if the proposed control approach has been used elsewhere and whether or not it was effective. Without fully understanding the issue and providing background rationale why this is an acceptable approach, I cannot support the proposal.
2. The proposed hunting season coincides with popular cottage and camping seasons. I am concerned that hunters will be shooting cormorants and may endanger the safety of other users.
3. As there appears to be no regulations against shooting birds while nesting or a restriction on the proposed season, I am concerned that hunters will (a) shoot nesting cormorants, (b) shoot other colonial nesting birds such as herons or terns and (c) enter colonies to collect and retrieve dead cormorants, possibly disturbing other nesting birds.
4. There is no requirement for hunters to report the number of cormorants that they shoot.
5. The proposed monitoring does not include fisheries assessments to directly link increases in fish populations to reductions in cormorant populations.
6. The discharge of firearms is not allowed in some areas with large cormorant colonies (e.g. Hamilton and Toronto) and as such, there won’t be any control of these populations and there are no proposed alternatives for these locations.
7. This proposed hunt is a thinly disguised cull to be conducted by the general public. A better approach would be to fully fund the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to implement the cull under it’s direction.