States permitted to control cormorants

New York and Vermont have been granted permission to put oil on cormorant eggs to prevent the young from hatching

May 6, 1999
Web posted at: 3:30 PM EDT

The states of New York and Vermont have been granted permission to control their double-crested cormorant populations by placing oil on eggs to limit reproduction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday.

Double-crested cormorants are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and, as a result, the birds, their nests and eggs may not be destroyed without a permit, said Ronald E. Lambertson, the service's northeast regional director.

Due to their federal protections, however, populations of the birds have skyrocketed in recent years. Since the cormorants are a fish-eating species, they are believed to be responsible for dwindling populations of fish species in some areas, such as catfish and smallmouth bass.

Sport and commercial fishermen, who depend on vibrant fish populations for their livelihood, view cormorants as a nuisance species. Last July nine men took control of the species into their own hands by illegally shooting more than 1,000 cormorants on Lake Ontario.

The issuing of these permits for control of the species is in part a proactive step by the Fish and Wildlife Service to prevent future slaughters of the birds.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation received permission to oil the eggs of 7,500 nesting cormorant pairs on Little Galloo Island in New York's Lake Ontario, the same location where the slaughter took place last July.

New York had also asked to kill 300 adult cormorants as a preliminary step in a broader cormorant control project to reduce predation on smallmouth bass, a popular sport fish. The service did not grant that permit, citing the need to first develop a comprehensive plan, along with an environmental impact statement, to manage the cormorant population in the eastern United States.

In a separate decision, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife received a permit to oil eggs of 3,000 nesting cormorant pairs on Young Island in Vermont's Lake Champlain, also to reduce the impact of cormorants on other birds and their habitat.

Vermont additionally had asked to oil the eggs of ring-billed gulls on the island if the population numbers more than 8,000 pairs. The service did not approve that request because the gull population appears stable at 7,500 pairs, said Lambertson.

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