Columbia River dilemma: Kill cormorants to save fish?

Columbian ^ | Aug 2, 2014 | AP

[Innovative]

Now, the population of the cormorants on East Sand Island has burgeoned from about 100 breeding pairs to 14,900, and a federal agency wants to have thousands of the seabirds shot to protect the fish, including some that are protected or endangered.

The birds eat lots of endangered wild fish, as well as hatchery stocks — an estimated 11 million a year — mainly in May as the young fish head for their years in the ocean.

In June, the corps released its plan to kill 16,000 of the birds. A public comment period has been extended to Aug. 19.

She said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would issue permits for the shooting, which would be carried out by the Wildlife Services agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

[Innovative]

Let's kill one species to protect another all because government knows best...

[beebuster2000]

so many tricky decisions to make once you start to play God

[blackdog]

Foe such smart people as they claim to be, do they not understand the role nature plays in creating the strongest, healthiest, most adapted of any species?

The lack of predatory birds serves to allow the slower and weaker offspring of the fish survive.

[doc1019]

Don’t do anything. The Cormorants will eat all the fish and then die of starvation ... problem solved. ;-)

[Uncle Chip]

I saw this on PBS — the young salmon are given a boat ride down river and dumped there where the cormorants are just waiting for them on their own little breeding ground.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Cormorants” Do they taste like chicken? Or Salmon?

[Captain7seas]

Nuts running the Loony Bin.

New Smyrna Beach FL (NSB) for decades was known as “The World’s Safest Bathing Beach”. Now, after they got a state net ban passed which has resulted in an abundance of baitfish inshore they prohibited commercial shark fishing within 3mi of the beach,in effect creating a marine sanctuary for sharks. Results:

Today, NSB is known as “The Shark Bite Capitol of The World”

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Let’s just give the fish EBT cards. Subsidize them. Problem solved.

[Calvin Locke]

Definitely fish. Even in Ancient Rome, recipes for [wild] waterfowl included multiple washings in an attempt to lessen the fishiness.

[smokingfrog]

If cormorants have any redeeming qualities, I don’t know what they are.

[Tonytitan]

Tommy Huntington.... expressed consternation at the plan to shoot the birds: "I can't believe in this day and age we can't come up with an alternative solution to killing things," he said. "You have to kill one to save the other one? It doesn't make any sense."

What does this hockey puck think happens on the food chain every day? What planet does he live on?

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Sounds like a good place to stock with bald eagles!

[BwanaNdege]

so many tricky decisions to make once you start to play God

Fantasia - Sorcerer's Apprentice

[Parmy]

You can’t truck Fish and Wildlife. Most of our wildlife problems in this State can be traced back to their ineptitude. There is nothing like and educated fool.

[Parmy]

I saw this on PBS — the young salmon are given a boat ride down river and dumped there where the cormorants are just waiting for them on their own little breeding ground.

A number of years ago, these idiots came up with the idea to open up the dams and let the rushing water in the Yakima and other rivers flush the salmon smolt to the Columbia and out to sea.

Problem, the fast, rushing water became nitrogenated, killed the fish and the dead smolt piled up behind the dams on the Columbia .

Educated idiots!

[Secret Agent Man]

government isn’t god.

stop killing our wildlife. let’wildlife determine what wildlife survives and whats doesn’t.

this is why we are in such a mess. we think we just know how everything works and is supposed to work, but we really don’t. global warming crap. inaccurate models. using fear and false results ‘to push policy and reduce quality of life.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Best bet would be to truck EPA, NOAA, Fish & Wildlife, Interior, Agriculture, etc. personnel down to the ocean and dump them in the “protected shark area”.

[blueunicorn6]

There’s only one answer......sharks with frickin’ lasers on their heads.

[Jeff Chandler]

young fish head

Wha?

[shotgun]

Meanwhile, you can walk across the backs of the sea lions at the mouth of the Columbia. Which is only 5 miles wide...

When I was a kid the dreaded predator was the lamprey, that gave way to the northern pike which was introduced to kill the lamprey, which then started to eat the salmon and steelhead eggs and fry, which now has a $3/head bounty paid by the state to get rid of them.

And now the tribes are claiming that the lamprey was a ceremonial fish species so they are trying to re-establish that back into the river, all the while protecting the seals and sea lions which devour the salmon and steelhead.