Why Humans Shouldn’t Kill Double-Crested Cormorants

Under the four-year cormorant killing program, federal agents are allowed to kill up to 11,000 double-crested cormorants, destroy nests, oil eggs to suffocate embryos. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services say that if the cormorants don’t eat the salmon, other birds will. Therefore singling out the double-crested salmon and reducing their population will not help to sustain salmon populations. Studies find that the deaths of salmon from migrating through the hydropower system could be reduced by making that travel safer; further, there are issues of drought, pesticides, warming water temperatures that are also contributors to deaths of salmon. Non lethal alternatives should be considered more thoroughly before ordering the death of DCCO.

 

Sources:

http://audubonportland.org/news/cormorant-update-august12-2015

http://audubonportland.org/issues/fws-cormorant-analysis

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/killing-one-species-intended-to-save-another-11000-birds-in-cross-hairs-of-multiyear-program/