MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Spring 2019

SPRING 2019 ML BLUE 15 natural areas devastated after moving in and clearing out all the fish. Fish harvesters also feel outcompeted for their shot at bagging commercial and recreationally valuable fish. But consider the Great Lakes fishery problem of the 1940s and one might think the cormorants were a god-given remedy from the sky. Predatory fish such as lake trout and burbot were declining across Lake Huron, mostly caused by overfishing, lamprey invasions and loss of spawning habitat. Unexpectedly, smaller fish populations exploded, filling the voids with shallow species such as alewife, rainbow smelt and yellow perch. Cormorants are far more likely to devour the smaller shallow fish like alewife—helping alleviate the pressure on the large fish populations. Plus, alewife devour baby trout. Cormorants are actually fighting our fight. It seems to me that a massacre masquerading as a game tag might be a harsh sentence for a bird that may naturally possess a key to the balancing act of populations co-existing on the Great Lakes. In other regions including China, Japan, Greece and elsewhere in Europe, fishermen have tamed cormorants to fish for them, joining forces with the fowl. It is incredible and you should look it up. I think this would be a must-try experience for visitors to the Georgian Bay area. Imagine: Guided SUP cormorant fishing excursions. You watch. Howdoes permitting a party to powerboat up alongside a colony,decimate it within an hour, then dispose of the meat “with care” under the same regulation, benefit a species designated as an integral component of the Great Lakes ecosystem? (“Hey, wanna try some crow duck? It’s high on the menu beside fresh locally harvested zebra mussels…” Didn’t think so.) While paddling the south rim of Manitoulin Island in August 2017, we discovered a small colony and saw the young up close. The juvenile cormorants might look like skeksis from Jim Henson’s 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal , but we won’t judge them by appearance. They’ll grow up to be well-natured birds of sport with strong family values. Both mother and father cormorants share the work in nest building and food gathering for their young. This race of fowl is capable of overcoming the most enduring hardships: perfect warriors to survive in this harsh but bountiful island realm. In that intimate moment, up close with the cormorants in their natural habitat, it became all too clear. There’s really not much meat on them. I don’t think this cull is worth it. — Scott Parent Charge ahead on life’s great adventures with the comfort, fit and support of the versatile New Sawtooth II Collection. #LeadTheWay In other regions including China, Japan, Greece and elsewhere in Europe, fishermen have tamed cormorants to fish for them, joining forces with the fowl.