Cormorant kill-off proposed to protect salmon runs

摘要

Cormorants, salmon: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is wrapping up a public comment period on a plan that would allow the Corps to kill nearly 16,000 double-crested cormorants on Oregon's East Sand Island.The birds are blamed for hugely impacting salmon runs. The island's 14,900 breeding pairs represent roughly 40 percent of the entire western population of the species, and they eat an average of 18 million endangered and threatened juvenile salmonids every year.Tribal and non-tribal commercial fishermen reported increased issues with bird predation this spring and summer and are concerned that East Sand Island's birds in particular could impact future runs.