A
Andy "the Dog" Nellist
Guest
The latest copies of the EA?s magazine wasn?t sent to me this year (well it might have been but I didn?t get it nor for that matter have I yet had one of my licences) so instead I had a look at it online. The magazine published in mid-March contains an article on cormorants:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/cormorant_1006108.pdf
The article quotes the number of cormorants over wintering as 23,000. This figure is the same as that given in answer to a written question in the House of Lords on behalf of the government by Lord Whitty on 24th May 2004:
?The most recent estimate of population size in Great Britain in the non-breeding season is 23,000 individuals (using data for the period 1994?95?1998?99). The index of population trend indicates that numbers in winter 2000?01 were slightly lower than in the mid 1990s. It is not possible to determine what proportion of the British wintering population of cormorants occurs on fisheries.?
Sounds like the figure is a guess !
The total figure for breeding pairs being quoted at the end of 2004 was 7500 breeding pairs of which 1500 pairs were inland. Now they are quoting 9000. That means either that the figures have been revised upwards or the population has grown 20%.
There are a series of quotes concerning fish refuges which seem rather over optimistic given the research that has so far been undertaken. The minister responsible for Ben Bradshaw was asked to comment on the EA?s research at the beginning of March and commented as follows:
?Defra's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science is currently undertaking research into the use of fish refuges to reduce damage to inland fisheries by cormorants. Early results are encouraging and suggest that the technique has considerable potential for reducing fish losses at some sites, such as smaller stillwater coarse fisheries. Currently, fish refuges do not offer a solution for all fisheries. However, work is continuing to further evaluate the benefits of introducing refuges in a range of fisheries and to assess any effects of the refuge structures on anglers. Over the past two years this research has cost the Department ?260k.?
Guessing at numbers and being over optimistic about solutions that will be effective only for a limited amount of fisheries is not good enough. The EA should be spending more to properly investigate this serious problem and for a start they should undertake a proper survey of the cormorant populations in the UK and the type and extent of the damage that is being done.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/cormorant_1006108.pdf
The article quotes the number of cormorants over wintering as 23,000. This figure is the same as that given in answer to a written question in the House of Lords on behalf of the government by Lord Whitty on 24th May 2004:
?The most recent estimate of population size in Great Britain in the non-breeding season is 23,000 individuals (using data for the period 1994?95?1998?99). The index of population trend indicates that numbers in winter 2000?01 were slightly lower than in the mid 1990s. It is not possible to determine what proportion of the British wintering population of cormorants occurs on fisheries.?
Sounds like the figure is a guess !
The total figure for breeding pairs being quoted at the end of 2004 was 7500 breeding pairs of which 1500 pairs were inland. Now they are quoting 9000. That means either that the figures have been revised upwards or the population has grown 20%.
There are a series of quotes concerning fish refuges which seem rather over optimistic given the research that has so far been undertaken. The minister responsible for Ben Bradshaw was asked to comment on the EA?s research at the beginning of March and commented as follows:
?Defra's Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science is currently undertaking research into the use of fish refuges to reduce damage to inland fisheries by cormorants. Early results are encouraging and suggest that the technique has considerable potential for reducing fish losses at some sites, such as smaller stillwater coarse fisheries. Currently, fish refuges do not offer a solution for all fisheries. However, work is continuing to further evaluate the benefits of introducing refuges in a range of fisheries and to assess any effects of the refuge structures on anglers. Over the past two years this research has cost the Department ?260k.?
Guessing at numbers and being over optimistic about solutions that will be effective only for a limited amount of fisheries is not good enough. The EA should be spending more to properly investigate this serious problem and for a start they should undertake a proper survey of the cormorant populations in the UK and the type and extent of the damage that is being done.