Cormorants

[ATH1089]

Originally Posted by Bassload

LOL! You're an ecology student? Really? Well then you should know if Cormorants have been here In NJ all along or not. Well "student" here is some homework for you. I'm including a link to a study done in Ohio back in 2006 that should put this link to rest. Once again let me point out that I'm NOT saying kill them all but their numbers are increasing. Also it's not just the "stocked trout" (or as you put it just a sport fish) that they birds eat it's all kinds of fish. This report also shows how THEY ARE DESTRUCTIVE to plant life which you claimed they were not. I'm guessing your just a freshman and don't know any better.

However, you were right on one thing. No study has been done in NJ. Care to guess why? That's because until recently they had not been in NJ in any large numbers. Now they are and now is the time to act before they become a much larger problem like in the Great Lakes Region.

BTW Fish and Game does admit to coyotes in NJ and has for some time.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/coyote_info.htm

The Cororant report is 196 pages. Enjoy the read and I wish you well with your degree.

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/midwestbi...CCOfinalEA.pdf

I was already aware of the study in Ohio; that was kind of the point of 'no study in New Jersey.' Sorry if that was too subtle for you. The coyote bit is news to me. I have not been involved in the hunting game for some time, so I do not check up on that sort of thing very often. The stocked trout, however, seem to be the only thing people care about. The birds are not having a negative impact in New Jersey except to sportsmen, who should know better.

They are native to this part of the country, whether you want to admit it or not. Just because there are more of them around does not mean they suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They are taking advantage of natural resources like everything else. More resources is inevitably going to lead to more birds. Is that really so complicated?