Cormorants Dining on Trout

January 29, 2009

Question: I watched a Fish and Game hatchery truck stock a nearby lake last week with about 100 pounds of catchable trout. Afterwards between 25-55 cormorants hung out to catch and eat trout over the next few days while anglers caught very few. I want to fish at this lake but truly believe that the trout are already gone. What part of my fishing license fees are dedicated to the feeding of these birds? Is it possible for bigger fish to be stocked that cannot be swallowed by these birds? (John T.)

Answer: Cormorants do eat fish, including the trout that the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) raises and plants with the dollars that come from the sale of fishing licenses. In the past, many fish and game agencies throughout the nation, including the DFG, have tried various control and even eradication programs to reduce cormorant numbers and increase fish populations.
Idaho tried raising trout to16-18 inches on a limited basis to reduce cormorant predation. The cost of feed and extra time tied up in hatchery ponds raising the fish to a larger size was extensive. Bird predation was reduced because of the difficulty of catching and swallowing the larger fish. Since larger but fewer trout were planted, limits were reduced and the water basically become a trophy trout fishery or a catch-and-release fishery with bait restrictions. Other states have tried rotating planting schedules and planting at night during the cormorant nesting season when their food requirements peak according to DFG Information Officer Harry Morse.

In most instances these programs were not effective or were cost prohibitive.

Presently, cormorants are migratory birds under protection of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS.) According to retired Senior Fishery Biologist Dennis Lee, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department petitioned the USFWS, so far unsuccessfully, for broader tools for decreasing the cormorant population. Some groups have called for cormorant population reduction via shooting in areas where dozens, if not hundreds, of these birds congregate to feed. USFWS research in the Great Lakes region has shown that cormorants will avoid such danger by moving to another area where they are not harassed. While that might immediately reduce pressure on an individual body of water, control measures over an entire region would be necessary for effective population reductions.

Unfortunately, DFG does not have a viable solution for reducing cormorants or other types of predation on stocked trout. As an alternative, you might check the DFG’s Web site for trout stocking information and look at our online fishing guide for another nearby lake. Hopefully, these two resources will help you to have a more successful fishing trip free of pesky cormorants.

SHOOT 'EM!!!!

White Pelicans are also plentiful in Bay Area lakes.  They can swallow large trout with no problem.