THE MORAN COMMITTEE
Cormorant numbers hunting inland have increased dramatically over the past three decades, and it is now widely accepted that they can cause significant damage to fish stocks and fisheries. Currently, some 23,000 birds over-winter in Great Britain, with perhaps 17,000 being present in England.
Defra has been conducting a review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which implements the EU Birds Directive and applies conditions under which birds causing a nuisance may be controlled, including shooting as a means to scaring. The main points to come from this review, and included in the Minster’s statement, are detailed below.
This concludes several years of lobbying by angling and fisheries organisations on the issue, and a few recent weeks of intensive consultation between Defra and the Moran Committee Bird Group, represented by its Chairman, National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives’ Terry Mansbridge, and the Salmon & Trout Association’s Paul Knight.
Terry Mansbridge said, “We welcome these changes of policy by Defra, which will significantly improve the ability of fishery managers to protect their fish stocks whilst not affecting the conservation status of the birds. Our thanks to the Minister and his department, and to Martin Salter MP for his efforts on our behalf.”
Paul Knight agreed. “We particularly welcome the added protection this will give vulnerable migrating salmon and sea trout smolts, together with spawning coarse fish and recently stocked fish in still waters.”
Both added, “It is now up to all fishery managers to use the new and improved procedures, if they have a problem with cormorants. We believe that this will allow fishery managers to redress the local balance between inland avian predators and freshwater fish populations, without causing undue impact on national cormorant numbers. It is a responsible compromise which meets the need to protect fish stocks as well as birds”.
Lord Moran, Chairman of the Moran Committee, said, “all anglers should be grateful to Terry Mansbridge and Paul Knight and their colleagues on the Committee’s Bird Group for their unremitting efforts to bring about a sensible solution to this problem, which has now been achieved. We must also be grateful to Ben Bradshaw, who has listened to what our Committee has been saying and given us a fair set of measures which should reduce the damage done to fisheries by cormorants while preserving reasonable numbers of birds and fish.”
The principal points are:
- Total number of birds licensed to be raised from about 600 to 2,000 per year, with the ability to increase to 3,000 if deemed necessary, or to decrease if conservation is threatened
- An easier application process, where presence of cormorants is proof enough of potential impact without having to submit evidence of actual damage
- The ability for Defra to grant a licence for two years without the need to reapply for the second year
- Under special circumstances, extension of the shooting season to May 1st, particularly to protect salmon and sea trout smolts on their downstream migration
- The Environment Agency and other Defra agencies are to be urged to take notice of these
The Moran Committee, chaired by Lord Moran, is the united voice for all the main fisheries and angling groups in England and Wales. The aim of the Committee is to reach consensus on current fisheries and angling issues among its twelve member organisations.
The Moran Committee Bird Group started meeting in January 2001 to develop constructive dialogue and co-operation between anglers, fishery interests and bird interests. The aim of the Committee is to identify common ground on the bird predation issue and to ensure that a reasonable balance is struck between the need to conserve both fish and birds. Members are committed to finding acceptable management strategies to what can be a challenging situation. The website www.cormorants.info is managed by the Moran Committee Joint Bird Group members.
BASC WELCOMES PLANS TO IMPROVE CORMORANT CONTROL
A decision to implement a significant increase in the species management of cormorants has been welcomed by the UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC).
DEFRA plans to ease the conditions surrounding licences to control cormorants, which pose a significant threat to fish stocks, after studies showed there are approximately 23,000 birds wintering in Britain.
Tim Russell, Director of Conservation at BASC, said “This is an important step in conservation management and we are pleased that the Government has recognised the key role that shooting can play. Many people who shoot are also keen anglers and have seen at first hand the devastation which a colony of cormorants can cause to inland fisheries and waterways. DEFRA’s proposals will help to maintain the cormorant population within sustainable levels whilst providing a viable means of restricting the damage they can do. This decision will be welcomed by conservationists, anglers and shooters alike.”
Licences are currently issued to remove between 200-300 birds per year. DEFRA plans to increase that number to up to 3000 in the first place, before maintaining an annual control of 2000 birds. Each application for a licence will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the standard of proof required before a licence is issued will be relaxed. DEFRA will provide more help for applicants, increase the number of birds on each individual licence and extend the duration of licences to two years.
BASC has been in discussion with bodies such as the National Federation of Anglers and DEFRA for some time in an attempt to address the problems caused by cormorant predation on inland fish stocks.
Tim Russell said “It is important that management of cormorants is carried out legally, humanely, safely and responsibly. One of the most effective methods is to control them by shooting. BASC, with 120,000 members, is able to help fisheries and angling clubs to comply with the terms of their licences and we will continue to be work with angling bodies to achieve that.”
