On Tue, Jan 12, 2021 at 10:13 AM <badgerboy...> wrote:
> Thanks Dave for calling attention to this seabird fish consumption study, > apparently instigated by the fishing industry. Please remember, the net > effect of any wildlife on the ecosystem is much more than just their > consumption. This is NOT a dig at the study or those who carried it out. > > Cormorants aint pretty, and they aint terribly popular among birders or > wildlife management agencies, not to mention with the general public and > fisheries people. > > However, their role in the recycling of marine nutrients to coastal > ecosystems is major, they are one of the birds that roost above coastal > wetlands and return massive amounts of organic material to fishery nursing > areas, making them a real keystone species for productive coastal > ecosystems and productive fisheries in the long term. This benefits all our > birds and other wildlife. Birds such as Gannets and Gulls provide much less > of this as they tend to roost at sea. In contrast, practically zero of the > marine nutrients taken by industry trawlers are returned to fish nursery > areas. > > Through fish predation, Cormorants' active selection of fitness in fish > populations off, and near the coast is also a major feedback to ecosystem > productivity. This is different from people's fishing activity which > doesn't discriminate what kind of fish get in the net. > > There's a real temptation to scapegoat common birds like cormorants for > the declining wildlife stocks, which are caused by people and their > fossil-fueled harvesting, that gives nothing back to the system. I ask > birders to resist that. > > Guy McGrane, Boone, NC > > > On 1/12/2021 7:49 AM, David Gibson (via carolinabirds Mailing List) wrote: > > I thought some of you might be interested in this short Center for > Conservation Biology piece > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ccbbirds.org/2021/01/06/seabirds-and-fish-along-the-coast-of-north-carolina/__;!!OToaGQ!7yb4lZP7WmExO6UlQv9zlgvUO3KaNUBH-rtGJwRK6FwaLihywtqfPVfaexvOEBlZaSU$> > about seabirds (cormorants, pelicans, etc.) along the NC coast. The aerial > photos are fascinating. > Dave Gibson > https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://birdpartner.com/__;!!OToaGQ!91Gq3C-AHmQHP1Pbeo5tqK0hXKhok5YNZcwz3sl3EodScrzJaw2QY5d6sOQpmwJ6zmE$ > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://birdpartner.com/__;!!OToaGQ!7yb4lZP7WmExO6UlQv9zlgvUO3KaNUBH-rtGJwRK6FwaLihywtqfPVfaexvOYQXLGEQ$> > >
