CORMORANTS!!

Share info on fishing Champlain.
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Flashpoint
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CORMORANTS!!

Post by Flashpoint »

:evil: :evil:
Hello everyone!
Been a while since I have been on, crazy busy...But guess that's a good thing!
After a busy weekend on the water & chatting with many on & off it is very clear the hot topic right now is the # of these vial birds around!! This forum is so great for all to share info & connect over so many ways. Its been so rewarding to attend meetings about our fishery over so many topics.... Lamprey control has gotten great attention & no doubt is in a positive direction. But the feeling of many out there including myself is that we are at the cusp of seeing a crash to our beloved​ fishery if something isn't done SOON!!! We all needed to speak as one to the right ears to see that the State is heard to push them & USFW work to come up with a plan before it's to late. I willing to work with all interested in working on a positive solution....Not just stir the pot!
All welcome to comment.....Let's get the ball rolling!!
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jimbow
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by jimbow »

Hi, I brought up control of these pests to one of the heads of the Vermont DEC at the work shop in Burlington last March when he was one of the speakers. He seems quite aware of the situation but he said the Feds are stopping ANY form of control of these birds. They don't oppose the control and Lake Ontario has a worse situation then we do so I'm sure NYDEC feels the same. So, as you said I think we have to concentrate on the Federal level and make sure the members are aware NOT to pester NY/VT State Officials. I don't think ANY members are going to object to any means to control the birds and if we do "Unite" we would have a BIG voice. However, since it is FEDERAL, and not all people feel the same all over the country we need help. If anyone has any pull with any of the larger organizations such as The Lake Ontario United, any Great Lakes Groups, TU and so forth, maybe they could assist in getting them to join forces with us. That way it would help us get ALL of our voices heard.
bagman
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by bagman »

The cormorant control was halted by a federal judge's order in Washington and is being fought out there. Federal and state agencies unfortunately have their hands tied, they know the problem. Only a reversal of some sort of the order will allow it to proceed. That's my understanding of it
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Flashpoint
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Flashpoint »

Thanks for the input guys, i have also been told the same. I will post to LOU & see what it will take to get some pressure on the feds.
A UNITED front we def need to be!
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Hairbone
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Hairbone »

Definately a lack of the smaller sized salmon. Dont know the reasons why.
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Thorny
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Thorny »

Thanks for starting this thread Matt. In the past we were not happy with our Cormorant control efforts. But at least we had some. We were keeping them in check. Now we are out of control! Letters to our senators and Governor to make them aware of the direction we are going is really important at this time!

I am worried that our Salmon fishery is heading for collapse. The authorities have been attempting to manage cormorants for years. But now we have no control measures of any kind. If these birds are not managed it is my opinion we will not have a Salmon fishery in Lake Champlain. They are stocked at the age of 1yr at 6-10in. 2 year olds generally run 15-18 inches. There are very few of these fish being caught this year. We can't catch what the birds ate last year. Most of the fish being caught this year are 3,4, and 5 year olds. It is my opinion that the fish stocked this year have already been devoured by the out of control Cormorant population. 2 generations of salmon are now gone. These Salmon only live for approx 5 years. Next year we will only have 4 and 5 year olds left. Within 5 years the fishery will be wiped out! There are so many resources that are dedicated to restoring the Lake Champlain Salmon Fishery. It's a terrible shame to watch it all go down the drain because authorities refuse to manage the invasive out of control Cormorant population.
Captain Rob Thorne
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Reelax
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Reelax »

Thorny wrote:Thanks for starting this thread Matt. In the past we were not happy with our Cormorant control efforts. But at least we had some. We were keeping them in check. Now we are out of control! Letters to our senators and Governor to make them aware of the direction we are going is really important at this time!

I am worried that our Salmon fishery is heading for collapse. The authorities have been attempting to manage cormorants for years. But now we have no control measures of any kind. If these birds are not managed it is my opinion we will not have a Salmon fishery in Lake Champlain. They are stocked at the age of 1yr at 6-10in. 2 year olds generally run 15-18 inches. There are very few of these fish being caught this year. We can't catch what the birds ate last year. Most of the fish being caught this year are 3,4, and 5 year olds. It is my opinion that the fish stocked this year have already been devoured by the out of control Cormorant population. 2 generations of salmon are now gone. These Salmon only live for approx 5 years. Next year we will only have 4 and 5 year olds left. Within 5 years the fishery will be wiped out! There are so many resources that are dedicated to restoring the Lake Champlain Salmon Fishery. It's a terrible shame to watch it all go down the drain because authorities refuse to manage the invasive out of control Cormorant population.

Rob, you couldn't have described the problem any better. We have seen missing yearlings for 2 seasons now and it will catchup to us now.... Not a good situation, and not something that can be made up. I am seeing more cormorants on the lake than ever and they are eating everything in sight.
Matt B
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keithm87
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by keithm87 »

Could changing when the fish are stocked make any difference? I know that the hold is due to a federal court ruling, so legislative and executive hands are pretty tied. But if we changed the stocking schedule maybe we could get them stocked when the cormorants are south, and they would have the winter to grow. If they did late fall stocking, instead of early spring it may give the small ones a chance.

Alternatively we could just release a bunch of rats and coons on 4 brothers.....
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Captain Paul
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Captain Paul »

Rob very well said. I have been fighting for lethal Cormorant control for years now and I believe we can get them under control very quick if we all Unite and use social media to get fishery's from all over the united states and Canada together. This is a very big issue trough out all of the United States and Canada . In my business I deal with fish company's and fishermen in many places everyone has a problem with Cormorants but until we can Unite everyone I don't think we can fix the problem we need lethal control not just a band aid put on the problem like it has been in the past.
I have said for years that Cormorants and the way the State stocks Brown Trout are the number one reason we do not have a Brown Trout fishery here on Lake Champlain you can not have a good fishery for anything with the number of Cormorants that we have now and have had for the past 20 years. It really pisses me of that the Government wont let us have a season on them we could bring these birds under control in 1 or 2 years if they would let us Hunt them for the month of May every year .
bagman
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by bagman »

An adult cormorant on average will eat approximately one pound of fish per day. With the numbers we are seeing this is a huge impact on these stocked fish. I can say that there were almost no 2 or 3 year old steelhead in Lewis creek this year and it was the poorest fishing down there I've seen in 5 years. Its seems as though every time Champlain shows huge promise some setback occurs. First off the cormorant should be removed from the endangered (or protected) species list. I'm not a legal eagle but I think that would free us up for local control
Adkhare
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Adkhare »

Captain Paul wrote:Rob very well said. I have been fighting for lethal Cormorant control for years now and I believe we can get them under control very quick if we all Unite and use social media to get fishery's from all over the united states and Canada together. This is a very big issue trough out all of the United States and Canada . In my business I deal with fish company's and fishermen in many places everyone has a problem with Cormorants but until we can Unite everyone I don't think we can fix the problem we need lethal control not just a band aid put on the problem like it has been in the past.
I have said for years that Cormorants and the way the State stocks Brown Trout are the number one reason we do not have a Brown Trout fishery here on Lake Champlain you can not have a good fishery for anything with the number of Cormorants that we have now and have had for the past 20 years. It really pisses me of that the Government wont let us have a season on them we could bring these birds under control in 1 or 2 years if they would let us Hunt them for the month of May every year .
I like the idea you have about May but I always like to go big or go home so how about open that season up to May June July and August and let the States reimbursement us for every bird we get, you know they'll make us use steel shot and based on the price of that and the amount of cormorants there is eating our fish I won't be able to afford to hunt or fish :o
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DreamWeaver
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by DreamWeaver »

As a Canadian, maybe your politics is not my business, but as a fellow fisherman who enjoys very much your fishery, my thoughts/suggestion to get some input to Washington, are the Boat/Outboard/Equipment OEM Lobbyist involved, such as Mercury, Trophy, G3, Lund, Garmin, Lowrance, etc who benefit from the fishing industry. Does anyone on the site have personal connections ?
Read the update on Canadian Bill 205, see url below
[url]https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-busi ... 1/bill-205
[url]https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/c ... -1.5727779
Last edited by DreamWeaver on Wed Jul 14, 2021 7:52 pm, edited 3 times in total.
septageguy
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by septageguy »

This is great information from our Canadian friends! Opening up a season there shows these birds are exceeding their habitat and need control.
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Reelax
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Reelax »

Ok if you can just hunt em in Canada, all we gotta do is push em all to northern missisquoi bay and have our Canadian partners lay waste to em all....
Matt B
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Vtmopar
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Re: CORMORANTS!!

Post by Vtmopar »

It will probably never happen on this side of the border.
Too many liberals.
High Plains Drifter
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