photo: Endangered Species Coalition

The wild salmon population has been declining rapidly over the last decades. Would it help to save them by killing thousands of cormorants? And even if so, is the life of a salmon worth more than the life of a cormorant? “The Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead with a shocking plan to kill 11,000 cormorants and destroy 26,000 of their nests. By their own estimates, they intend to kill 15 percent of the entire population of Double-crested Cormorants west of the Rocky Mountains. The justification that the Corps is offering for this stunning killing spree is that the birds are consuming endangered salmon on the Columbia River. These cormorants that live and nest in Oregon’s lower Columbia River estuary are not salmon’s primary threat. The fish are endangered primarily because of dams, pollution, and habitat loss–not because of cormorants. Yet, the Corps has chosen to focus on these birds, potentially reducing their population to dangerous levels. The FWS has estimated that this plan would reduce the population of cormorants below the number they consider sustainable. Salmon are in trouble and recovering them will require action, but this recovery should not come at the expense of native birds. The killing of 11,000 cormorants and untold more through the destruction of nests is a grotesque and misguided solution when so many other, larger threats–such as dams, habitat loss, and pollution–remain unchallenged.” Please read more here: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/salmon.htm

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