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Fwd: Angling Trust team hails breakthrough over cormorant problem

N

Nick Clark

Senior Member & Supporter
News coming through: Angling Trust team hails breakthrough over cormorant problem - The Angling Trust

"Anglers and fishery managers have today welcomed the decision by the Natural Environment and Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon to replace the current bureaucratic and wholly inadequate system of licensing the control of cormorants with a new catchment-based approach which will allow for predator control based on local needs rather than arbitrary national limits. ...

Although details are yet to be fully clarified, the main features of the catchment-based system look set to include:

* an end to arbitrary national limits on numbers of birds to be shot
* three regional advisors to be appointed to support fishery managers, funded by Defra
* cormorant numbers to be assessed annually by catchment
* as long as the conservation status of the birds are not threatened, the scheme will continue annually"
 
All good news Nick thumbs up for the trust i say......
 
"a recipe for squab pie, contributed by Penzance W.I., involves layers of veal, ham, mutton, beef, a cormorant and as much clotted cream as it will take. This is such a massive and baroque undertaking that I don't suppose it was cooked very often..."

Over to you lads!
 
It's a step forward....providing the government doesn't put out one of their usual little notes hidden on page five in the press in a few weeks time. It usually runs something like 'It now seems unlikely this will take place'...which is what they have done on almost every issue since they have been in power :rolleyes:

It seems that if they are under pressure to do somthing about any particular issue, they agree at the time, to keep the punters happy....then do a little backtracking in a few weeks, hoping not too many people will notice...

But, we live in hope, because they occasionally DO mean what they promise :D If it does come off, then top marks for the AT. I knew I was paying them for something :p

Cheers, Dave
 
We'll only know for sure when the new scheme is up and running, but it's a step in the right direction. Yet more good work from the AT as far as I'm concerned.

Nick C
 
Chris Avis said:
Great news, my cousin is a sniper with the paras I wonder if I can hire him to do his job
:)
Click to expand...

Unless they change the law, only shotguns are permitted to be used according to my current licence. ;)
 
What about goosanders? They are just as much of a threat to fish population. Cormorants take mature breeding sized fish, whilst goosanders clean up the snack sized juvenile fish!
 
Its all in the detail.

Goosanders and Red Breasted Mergansers are included within the Evidence Summary of the review and frankly, there is a lot within the summary that will light a torch for the RSPB and other ornithologist based groups. In particular item 4. "Other Evidence Gaps" interests me simply because the AT has no way of funding any research that would enable these "gaps" to be filled. Added to which the whole document up to page 75 is full of ministerial "political speak" that we have all heard before and mostly prior to yet another political committee going belly up a year or so later.

But then again, if one reads on from page 76 to 82 of the report, you will read in item 6 the references that are attributed with the report. These are basically a simply massive list from the who's who on the subject of cormorant predation who have written and undertaken studies on this subject on a huge scale. If you read through this you will perhaps be surprised to see just how much scientific information there is out there on the subject already.

Will this sway the politicians? Nope. They have had a lot of this information for some time and not acted. Why not? Bird groups have the power and the AT has none simply because the three species of bird we are talking about remain iron clad in protective legislation that goes way beyond these shores and because of this our own domestic politicians are in between a rock and a hard place so posturing takes place so they "appear" to be doing things on the home front. The AT do the best it can but they are also up against this wall of protective steel. The bird groups merely dig in knowing they have the legislation on their side. Which incidentally, is exactly what angling would be doing if the roles had been reversed and say three species of protected fish were eating all the ducks!!

You can't blame the AT or the bird groups. Not even the majority of politicians because most of them are bonkers anyway. The blame lies fair and square at the doors of the crackpot tree huggers who can't see the woods for the trees and who seem to constantly get conservation totally wrong because they are unable to see the bigger picture. And when the bigger picture finally comes crashing down upon the natural world they claim they are protecting these same dullards refuse to see the error of their ways by simply reversing decisions made and admitting they were actually wrong.

At the end of the day, even though many like me have been saying this for years way before the AT took up the cudgel, this whole scenario is unsustainable for cormorants the same as it is for the fisheries and the fish species that these birds prey upon. What kind of conservationist creates legislation then stands back and does nothing when things go blatantly wrong? That's not conservation, its not protection or preservation its down right stupidity.

Regards,

Lee.
 
Hello Lee. Unfortunately, you and I seem to be of like mind and I agree with all you have to say. There are many issues affecting angling (particularly river angling) and the negatives seem to outweigh the positives!
 
Calling all ex carpers,,,,,,,,,break out the Black Widows,,,,,,,,, they are gonna be put to good use LMFAO ,!,
 
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