Half a million reasons NOT to celebrate cormorants in Toronto

Half a million reasons NOT to celebrate cormorants in Toronto

In light of the City of Toronto’s plans to “welcome back” double-crested cormorants on April 12, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (O.F.A.H.) is extending an invitation to Mayor David Miller to join them on a fishing trip to learn how an overpopulation of cormorants is destroying our environment.

“We’d be pleased to offer the Mayor a chance to see firsthand the kind of destruction that is caused by these birds. Not only do they wreak havoc on water quality, destroy habitat for other nesting birds on Lake Ontario and in many parts of the province, they also consume 42 million pounds of fish in Ontario each year, and have devastated fisheries populations in the Great Lakes and inland waters,” said Mike Reader, O.F.A.H. Executive Director.

Over the past twenty years, the number of cormorants in the Great Lakes basin alone has soared to over 450,000 – that’s over 250 times the historic population levels. In waterfront communities like Toronto and Brighton, and in areas like Georgian Bay, Manitoulin Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Simcoe and the Kawartha Lakes, cormorant overpopulation has left behind the skeletons of mature shorelines, barren islands and decimated fisheries that may take years to recover. The problem has become so extensive, that the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources established an independent scientific review committee to examine the cormorant population in the Presqu’ile area. They recommended that effective cormorant controls are necessary to prevent further ecological damage.

During his address at the Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast on March 2, 2005, Mayor Miller shared his vision for an ecologically sound waterfront in the heart of Toronto. “I want people to be able to go swimming at all the beaches and parks that line Toronto’s 46 kilometres of shoreline. I want to take my children fishing, and let them catch their supper in Toronto Harbour. I want Torontonians to be able to dip a cup into Lake Ontario and take a drink.”

While the Mayor’s environmental vision is certainly inspiring, the O.F.A.H. believes he should start by focusing on cormorant controls, not cormorant celebrations.

“If the Mayor really cares about biodiversity, water quality, habitat protection and local fishing opportunities, the City of Toronto needs to work with wildlife managers and conservation organizations such as the O.F.A.H. to develop strategies for effective control of the cormorant population. Instead of taking part in a public relations event which is based on rhetoric and emotions, the City of Toronto should be supporting science based management of our valuable water resources to protect them for future generations,” said Reader.

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