Authors: A. Ben Clymer; Mark Clymer
Author Affiliation: Les Cheneaux Islands Association
Journal: Unpublished, 1994
Abstract: Following shifts in both sport and commercial fishing activity in the mid-1980's, Dbl. Crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) began nesting at 5 island rookeries around the Les Cheneaux Islands, displacing most of the Heron, Gulls, and Plovers that historically nested there. Their principle impact on the local fishery has been during the spring spawning season, when their feeding habits began to limit Yellow Perch (Perca flav escens) reproduction and in some cases eliminated entire year classes in some spawning bays.
This is a working paper that was being developed to model the relationships between Cormorants and Perch, in order to provide a basis for updating John Schrouder's Les Cheneaux Fisheries Opportunity Analysis into a larger scope Fisheries and Cormorant Management Plan. The overall goal being to substantiate the need and underlying science for a Cormorant Depredation Permit.
Public Resource Depredation Order (PRDO, 50 CFR 21.48) was obtained in 2003 after 25 years of continuous effort, and is currently (2017) unavailable for renewal, due to an unfavorable Federal Court ruling in PEER vs FWS (Case 1:14-cv-01807-JDB), on May 26, 2016.