cormorants destroying fish stocks natural waters

[sis the roach]

we never had the chance of ever winning the fight with the cormorants in the first place but it seams like nothing is being done the canal at Beeston fished well last year through out the winter it has not fished that well for 15 years I never saw a cormorant on it I fished it every day I have been on it this back end first two times the first thing I saw was a cormorant come from below the water out of my peg as I was setting up the has not been a patch on last season I know the water levels have been different but is not the reason some friends that live on the narrow boats that I have from the past twenty years tell me they see cormorants at four in the morning first light up in the lock the the attenbourough gravels have long stopped fishing my old my garden Bennett stoped fishing them years a go so that enough for me to know it done well the nature reserve have bought it now with a large sum of the money given by biffer I was told so I don't think there will be no more fishing we don't seem to have any say no more not that we did but I remember **** Clegg the then England team manager asking anglers all to put ten pounds each to buy the Holme peirpoint water sports centre so we can have base and perhaps be heard but what ever we anglers say falls on deaf ground it has for years we just keep paying our licence fees for what I know for what do you

 

[108831]

I can remember moaning like a drain about cormorants killing our lakes and rivers around ten years ago,i think i see more now than i did back then,yet the majority of those waters fish their nuts off for roach,dace and perch,i often look back and think that either there was something wrong back then,water wise,or more likely the fish reverted to avian defense mode,which i believe roach in particular lie in mid-water,heads down,tails up motionless,the birds,grebes included find the roach difficult to see,these fish only feed as the light fades,if you are allowed try fishing into dark for an hour,just to see if they're still there...

 

[Pete Shears]

I think the fish have learnt to hide during the brightest hours only to re-appear when the light fades as cormorants do not fly in the dark by choice and this behaviour is prevalent on rivers as well as still waters.

 

[nottskev]

I take the points being made that the presence of cormorants prompts the prey fish to alter their behaviour, and this can make them harder to catch. But cormorants don't just frighten fish into hiding - they remove them, and we would not be pleased if a bunch of poachers descended on our local water every morning and each took a pound or more of fish home. I've been a member of clubs plagued by cormorants who found, when they had their water netted or electro-fished, that the fish weren't hiding - they were gone. Avian and mammal predators do indeed cause fish to change how they behave. But the ones eaten just cease to exist.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Something has and is being done to try and change the way cormorants are currently protected although the deadline for public consultation was 5th December 2019. But the general apathy and propensity of angling clubs and anglers to just "moan about it" has probably limited any positive impact of that work.Avon Roach Project: Cormorants on the General Licence

 

[xenon]

wonder how much community minded air rifle based guerilla action takes place? Not that I am condoning anything like that. No siree...

 

[sam vimes]

wonder how much community minded air rifle based guerilla action takes place? Not that I am condoning anything like that. No siree...

Not a lot. They are hard enough to shoot (legally) with a shotgun, or proper bullet firing rifle. We've also found that they are pretty quick to learn to avoid a water where they get shot at. We are at the point where the odd rogue newcomer or youngster can be scared off with a starter pistol.

 

[108831]

Lead shot are not much good for cormorants,certainly 6's are ineffective and im not sure if 4's are much good either because of their damp mat of feathers,s.steel are best,i think fish are still present in fair numbers on most waters where cormorant predation takes place,the big issues are fish recruitment,if they dont spawn successfully then predation is a critical issue,this can be a water quality problem,or levels,siltation,anything,there are to many demands on our waterways and each taxes the fishes ability to thrive....

 

[rayner]

Not sure the best way to tackle the problem but a cull is badly needed, one way or another they have to go.
It's about time this nambi pambi way of dealing with these terrorist creatures was sorted out.

 

[108831]

I could say the same about otters because of the damage they have done to our rivers,but one thing is certain,cormorants have thrived across europe on their own,no help from us at all,its not as if they were being shot before(in any numbers anyway),its unusual these days to hear of a species being successful,when they are others suffer until a status quo is reached,my local waters were poor for around 8/10 years,cormorants were blamed,now silver fish populations have boomed(in the main)roach and dace are plentiful,chub and barbel are not,we as anglers have to ride the roller coaster until things change.Badgers are being and have been culled because of bovine tuberculosis,total garbage in my view as humans carry the disease by our very mobility,lorries deliver from farm to farm,driving through piles of animal pee and poo,they do not get hosed down every time,we dont cull lorry drivers,post men etc...

 

[John Keane]

Not sure the best way to tackle the problem but a cull is badly needed, one way or another they have to go.
It's about time this nambi pambi way of dealing with these terrorist creatures was sorted out.

“Terrorist creatures” mg: they’re only doing what nature designed them to do, the fact that we don’t like it and it’s getting out of hand doesn’t make them card-carrying members of Al Quaeda!

 

[mikench]

But in the sea.They and the gulls which plague some seaside towns are seabirds. We have only ourselves to blame being dirty creatures who litter our streets and countryside with discarded food. It's hardly surprising that birds adapt and make hay.

I know nothing about shotguns but a fishery owner I know has no difficulty in taking them out. As he told me he wasn't planning on buying 5000 silver fish to feed cormorants.

 

[John Keane]

But in the sea.They and the gulls which plague some seaside towns are seabirds. We have only ourselves to blame being dirty creatures who litter our streets and countryside with discarded food. It's hardly surprising that birds adapt and make hay.

I know nothing about shotguns but a fishery owner I know has no difficulty in taking them out. As he told me he wasn't planning on buying 5000 silver fish to feed cormorants.

Gulls are the ultimate adaptable omnivore and have always frequented seaside resorts. They are birds of the coastal environment and not birds of the open sea as they can’t dive for food. For decades before the advent of fast food outlets they have been predating on landfill sites miles from the sea. They are also known for following the plough for worms when farmers turn over their fields preparatory to planting.

 

[bracket]

I know what you mean sis. When I still lived in Nottingham, 30 year ago there was a huge resident flock of cormorants at Attenborough Nature reserve. First thing they did each morning was to fly to the Trout Lake at Colwick for breakfast. Pete.

 

[trotter2]

Such a difficult thing to keep off any Stillwater they are very intelligent birds and other than shooting them little is guaranteed to work long term.

 

[John Keane]

A lake of a club I was a member of had fish refuges introduced. Cylindrical wire mesh enclosures around 5ft in diameter with a black lid made of pond liner to provide shade. Cormorants couldn’t get in but silver fish could. Mind you the club in question invited the cormorants in by cutting down screening trees and giving the cormorants a flight path in and out. When their feathers are wet they need a long, clear take-off path if they are alarmed before drying them out.

 

[tigger]

It can be frustrating when you see fish eating birds in your fishing spots.
I have to say though that i've seen cormorants and seagulls inland from being a kid. I can remember being 5yrs old and fishing with my dad and brother on local still waters and watching the cormorants standing in lines with their wings spread as they dried them off.
On the dairy farm that I grew up on there were always loads of seagulls on the fields, especially when there was any shyte spreading, grubbing or ploughing going on.
No matter what anglers spout about them not being inland birds and how they've suddenly invaded, I know that they've been there for my lifetime...and i'm not exactly a youngster!
I think their presence has become more frowned upon/noticed because of the many commercial type fisheries that have sprung up and obviously the owners don't like to see their fish being eaten.

One species of bird used to be everywhere back when I was living on tye farm and is now a rarity...the lapwing.
They used to really annoy me when I was out shooting as they were a alarm system for the other wildlife.
We used to have lots of coveys of grey partridge on the fields and I could alway pop over the fields and get one or two to eat but now they have gone!

 

[steve2]

We have laid out the table for all fish eating predators with our overstocked fisheries so why are we surprised when they come to call.

 

[John Keane]

Flocks of hundreds of lapwings on Martin Mere this week. They know where the easy pickings are.

 

[The bad one]

Ey by gum, I had Partridge last night for my tea Ian. Sadly it was the introduced Red Legged verity but lovely never the less. The lapwings near (100+) me (urban Area a mile and a half from the city centre) roost on Farm Foods building Roof. Is there an Irony there?