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Minister Gives Green Light to Review of Cormorant Locensing

Martin James

Senior Member
The following is certainly good news, all anglers must be prepared to get out and photograph groups of cormorants as evidence they are about in numbers, also its time for action from angling clubs in applying for a licence to cull. Don't leave it to others. I get fed up with the moaners, now is the time for them to collect the evidence and present it to DEFRA.

MINISTER GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO REVIEW OF CORMORANT LICENSING

Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP announced yesterday a review of the current licensing regime for cormorant control at an Angling Summit, attended by 30 angling and fisheries organisations. This announcement followed a letter to the Minister from the Angling Trust last November, calling for action to be taken to protect stillwater and river fisheries which are suffering significant losses as a result of cormorant predation.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will invite the Angling Trust, as the representative body for all anglers, to contribute to the development of the scope, remit and delivery of the review, which have yet to be decided.

The Trust will be pressing for rapid progress on this issue, and for the review to take the following into account:

The contribution of angling to the local and national economy (estimated by the Environment Agency to be about £3.5billion each year);
The impact of cormorant predation on endangered stocks of freshwater eels (estimated by Defra to be up to 43 tonnes a year during the breeding season), which have declined in number by some 95% in the past two decades;
The impact of avian predation on already threatened salmon stocks – which on some rivers removes about 50% of the juvenile fish leaving the river before going to sea as smolts;
The fact that more than 75% of water bodies are failing to meet the standards set out in the Water Framework Directive – many of these due to poor fish populations;
The cost to taxpayers of the current licensing regime, which involves significant bureaucracy and expensive site visits from Natural England staff;
The fact that fisheries which are successful in applying for a licence are normally only allowed to shoot two or three cormorants; many have twenty times this number present on their fisheries;
The lack of accurate data on cormorant, goosander and merganser numbers and the impact of local controls on national populations;
The need for a review of the effectiveness of other methods of control – many of which are required to be tried before licences are granted – such as bird scarers, fish refuges and scarecrows and to consider providing funding to support their deployment by stillwater fisheries;
The need to develop a UK-wide policy in synergy with the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Angling Trust will be inviting its members to contribute to the review by providing examples of the impact of cormorants, mergansers and goosanders and how their angling and fish stocks have been damaged, and to report their experience of the current licensing regime by post or to cormorants@anglingtrust.net

The Angling Trust will continue to campaign for urgent action to tackle problems with fish populations caused by pollution, over-abstraction, habitat damage and barriers to migration. Many of these problems make cormorant and other avian predation much worse by reducing natural fish population growth and making it harder for fish to escape predation. Weirs, for example, often force fish to move up and downstream through very narrow channels, which make them very vulnerable to being eaten at these points. Similarly, many flood defence works remove overhanging vegetation and other cover from rivers, under which fish would naturally hide.

Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said: “Anglers are conservationists at heart and do more than any other group to protect our rivers and lakes by providing funding and voluntary labour to conservation and restoration initiatives and by reporting pollution incidents. However, until our rivers and coastal fish populations are restored to good health, we must be allowed greater freedom to control local populations of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers where they are impacting on fish stocks."

He continued: “We will be providing our member angling clubs and fisheries with practical guidance about how to apply for licences and other measures they can take to protect the fish on which their societies and businesses depend. We hope that this review will result in much greater freedom for anglers to manage the environment themselves, at less cost to the taxpayer.â€

The Angling Trust, along with fisheries charities and angling industry groups, made representations to the Minister at the Angling Summit about:

the importance of managing marine fish stocks for sustainable recreational benefit which generates economic benefits rather than damaging commercial fishing which is heavily subsidised by the taxpayer;
proposals for delivery of fisheries and angling management by the voluntary and charitable sector rather than the Environment Agency;
the damaging impacts of hydropower on fisheries and its minimal contribution to renewable energy targets;
the importance for all fish species – coarse and game – of the removals of barriers to migration;
the vital need to implement the Water Framework Directive;
the potential role of anglers in managing invasive non native species;
the impact of predators on fish stocks in a managed environment.
A further day-long summit will be held in late March, with 150 invited attendees, which will consider the economic, social and environmental importance of angling and the contribution anglers and fisheries conservation bodies can make to delivering the big society agenda.
 
Excellent stuff. I'm starting to get the impression that more and more people are turning against cormorants and beginning to see them for what they are -and interestingly enough, some of these people are the bird watching fraternity.
 
Its great news but what gets my goat up is the people that moan about them and do nothing.
For example how many clubs/stretches take the option up of a culling license on the Ribble??
One that does is a local baliff down my way and do you know what in 4 days of fishing this week i've not seen a single one of the bloody things!!!
If i went up Elston way i would see at least 20 of them in certain areas although with the River being busy down here i'm sure that helps.
Get behind it lads and talk to your controlling clubs;)
 
Its great news but what gets my goat up is the people that moan about them and do nothing.
For example how many clubs/stretches take the option up of a culling license on the Ribble??
One that does is a local baliff down my way and do you know what in 4 days of fishing this week i've not seen a single one of the bloody things!!!
If i went up Elston way i would see at least 20 of them in certain areas although with the River being busy down here i'm sure that helps.
Get behind it lads and talk to your controlling clubs;)

John, I guess that it is not always that easy to nail them. Firstly, they are pretty wary and I suspect that you need to know their roosting sites. Secondly, I would have loved to have nailed some of the things (about 20) on a lake near where I live. The problem being the public have access.
 
John, I guess that it is not always that easy to nail them. Firstly, they are pretty wary and I suspect that you need to know their roosting sites. Secondly, I would have loved to have nailed some of the things (about 20) on a lake near where I live. The problem being the public have access.

Hi Jim,
the roosting sites are are all to well known around this area and once you are out of Preston the river is rural with not much in the way off the public.
I do have to say though the biggest roosting area at night is down below Preston in an area that is esturian and has very little value for the anglers.
The birds then go up the valley past my house at 8am ish every day.
Lets hope theres a good run of Flounder this spring then they may find the food thats natural to them:)
 
Hi Jim,
the roosting sites are are all to well known around this area and once you are out of Preston the river is rural with not much in the way off the public.
I do have to say though the biggest roosting area at night is down below Preston in an area that is esturian and has very little value for the anglers.
The birds then go up the valley past my house at 8am ish every day.
Lets hope theres a good run of Flounder this spring then they may find the food thats natural to them:)

Back to you John. You do wonder why they have to leave the estuary to go up river to plunder freshwater fish stocks. The long and short of it is that there are too many of the things. If you know where they roost and few members of public present, then with appropriate permission, some members of your local angling club could help control numbers? I appreciate that it's never that easy. Good luck with the vermin. I really like birdlife and look after them throughout the year. I just cannot see anything going for those things at all.
 
Good day everyone when you see a group of Cormorants 3 or more please take photograph and send it to me with location date and time. martin@flyfishing.plus,com We all need to take some action. Also encourage your club, syndicate or association to apply for a licence. Its our right to have a licence if these predators are damaging fish stocks. What we must do is get off our backsides and do something in collecting evidence. Please don't be apathetic. Remember its your children and grandchildren's future we are trying to protect so they have the chance to enjoy what we have. We must all work together to defeat a common enemy.
 
John, if a license to cull has been granted you should have no problem getting someone to shoot them if, as Jim say's, access permission can be obtained. Contact your local clay pigeon shooting club, a lot of people join clay shooting clubs because they have no access to field shooting. For vermin control you should have no shortage of help offered.
 
Whilst i totally agree with a cull on cormorants im affraid it will only be a tempary measure and the problem wont go away. The reasons why they are coming in land need more urgent action. The fact is that their natural food sea fish are in total decline due to over fishing and greed by commercial fishermen. So unless something is done about it sooner rather than later im affraid this problem with the cormorants will not go away, that is unless we totally wipe them out which im sure will have severe reprisals from various nature groups aimed at us anglers and not the real culprits the commercial fishermen..
 
Whilst i totally agree with a cull on cormorants im affraid it will only be a tempary measure and the problem wont go away. The reasons why they are coming in land need more urgent action. The fact is that their natural food sea fish are in total decline due to over fishing and greed by commercial fishermen. So unless something is done about it sooner rather than later im affraid this problem with the cormorants will not go away, that is unless we totally wipe them out which im sure will have severe reprisals from various nature groups aimed at us anglers and not the real culprits the commercial fishermen..

A lot of sense in this. However, which is the easier option for a cormorant, work for its fish in the sea or the easy pickings of a "goldfish pond"? If there is not enough natural food in the sea, then like any predator/prey relationship, numbers should decrease until sufficient food becomes available again. If they are left unchecked then their numbers will mushroom as they adapt to freshwater. I suspect that if there were more natural food in the sea, the problem would still persist for the reasons above. I just wonder if the cormorants adapted to freshwater were culled, then possibly, we might be back to how it was and the problem would be manageable.
 
Problem is not a new one, indeed, has been around around for decades and was largely solved by old-fashioned means. Forty-odd years ago on the Avon below Salisbury there was a tree named the Cormorant Tree beside the pretty fine, early-run spring salmon pool that was located immediately below the Charlton Shallows and the Bailey Bridge. Watching Tom Williams fish a wooden devon through it deep one late-February morning, I asked him about the very distinctive-looking and then leafless tree, having been told its name a few days earlier by another rod on the Estate, Doc' Swain of Bournemouth.

"Not any more, they don't." he replied. "Shot the buggers. And when they came back, we shot that lot. And the few that followed, too. Don't see them now."
 
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Whilst i totally agree with a cull on cormorants im affraid it will only be a tempary measure and the problem wont go away. The reasons why they are coming in land need more urgent action. The fact is that their natural food sea fish are in total decline due to over fishing and greed by commercial fishermen. So unless something is done about it sooner rather than later im affraid this problem with the cormorants will not go away, that is unless we totally wipe them out which im sure will have severe reprisals from various nature groups aimed at us anglers and not the real culprits the commercial fishermen..

What you say is undeniable Craig, but are we to let cormorants continue to wreak havoc while waiting for something to be done about over harvesting the sea? We may wait a long time. As John says, too few people are actually doing anything. If clubs can get licenses to cull then they should use them. Get in people who shoot to control the cormorants. If clubs were pro-active in this way then it would control the numbers until (if ever) the sea was a more viable option for them once again.
 
Problem is not a new one, indeed, has been around around for decades and was largely solved by old-fashioned means. Forty-odd years ago on the Avon below Salisbury there was a tree named the Cormorant Tree beside the pretty fine, early-run spring salmon pool that was located immediately above the Charlton Shallows and the Bailey Bridge. Watching Tom Williams fish a wooden devon through it deep one late-February morning, I asked him about the very distinctive-looking and then leafless tree, having been told its name a few days earlier by another rod on the Estate, Doc' Swain of Bournemouth.

"Not any more, they don't." he replied. "Shot the buggers. And when they came back, we shot that lot. And the few that followed, too. Don't seem them now.".

Food for thought, Paul. I wonder what gun was used to deter the cormorants, shotgun or .22 rifle. The problem with clay pigeon types they use shotguns and I'm not sure if you can get close enough to nail them with this type of weapon. A .22 rifle has more risks associated with it. The point is, 40 years ago, shooting restrictions were more more lax than they are currently. I hear that deadbait fisherman unfortunately catch the odd cormorant. Let's hope that this is not a widespread practice.
 
Totally agree they need to be controlled and what Paul has wrote is correct..Im trying to play devils advocate here because joe public does not understand the problems faced by Predation problems on many rivers. It will only be a matter of time before the doo-gooders will say us anglers are killing everything just so we can catch fish..It seems us anglers are facing a lengthy up hill battle to try and protect whats left of the rivers fish stocks..Untill the EA admit to the problems publicly us anglers are on to hiding for nothing and will indeed end up as scapegoats..
Lets hope that common sense prevails and a much needed cull actually happens..
 
Food for thought, Paul. I wonder what gun was used to deter the cormorants, shotgun or .22 rifle. The problem with clay pigeon types they use shotguns and I'm not sure if you can get close enough to nail them with this type of weapon. A .22 rifle has more risks associated with it. The point is, 40 years ago, shooting restrictions were more more lax than they are currently. I hear that deadbait fisherman unfortunately catch the odd cormorant. Let's hope that this is not a widespread practice.


In those days, Jim, the Estate concerned had a full team of gamekeepers. I'm still fishing with sea-trout flies I tied with the squirrel tails that its Head Keeper, Archie Boone, a lovely old fella who lived in a tied cottage just across the village street from my girlfriend and her family, let me have (as well as other feathery and furry stuff). Williams and those guys would have found a way to do those cormorants.
 
In those days, Jim, the Estate concerned had a full team of gamekeepers. I'm still fishing with sea-trout flies I tied with the squirrel tails that its Head Keeper, Archie Boone, a lovely old fella who lived in a tied cottage just across the village street from my girlfriend and her family, let me have (as well as other feathery and furry stuff). Williams and those guys would have found a way to do those cormorants.

You're absolutely correct, Paul. Control has gone on so many issues. With the demise of the landed gentry, the gamekeepers have gone the same way - sort of predator/prey relationship! I remember a friend of mine related a tale where there were half a dozen cormorants lined up on a long branch or something like that. An aquaintance of his had a .22 with silencer etc. He picked off the first cormorant and it dropped into the water. The other cormorants were quite unperturbed. This was repeated until there was just one remaining and the last bird decided to take off - must have sensed something was not quite right!
 
Whilst i totally agree with a cull on cormorants im affraid it will only be a tempary measure and the problem wont go away. The reasons why they are coming in land need more urgent action. The fact is that their natural food sea fish are in total decline due to over fishing and greed by commercial fishermen. So unless something is done about it sooner rather than later im affraid this problem with the cormorants will not go away, that is unless we totally wipe them out which im sure will have severe reprisals from various nature groups aimed at us anglers and not the real culprits the commercial fishermen..

As you say Craig all of there natural food in the sea has gone . So what choice have they got . But to move inland .
In Cheltenham where I live for many years now they have had problems with sea gulls .They have talked about culling for years and nothing gets done .
I can only assume they have moved so far inland due to a lack of fish . So until man stops plundering the sea , Then the problem will continue and get worse .
 
Yup. Okay. We shoot plenty of transgressive Corms in the short term, whilst at the same time shooting (even more ruthlessly and dispassionately) the industry ["Culture, History, Jobs in Remote Areas etc etc" :- "Yeah right..."] and the "Ignore it and it'll go away" posturing, here-today-gone-tomorrow politicos whose inaction drove them inland in the first place.

PS- Not a Cormorant Lover
 
Just a consideration. I cannot remember the exact details as it was something I read many a year ago regarding a massive cull on a huge water somewhere in Eastern Europe. Literally thousands were killed over the course of a year. And two years later, virtually the whole niche repopulated.
 
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