Hi folks

Was going through the American Fisheries Society's "Journal of Aquaculture"
that had a bearing on birds and bird populations. Thought that some folks
on the list might be interested. I know that the state hatcheries here in
Washington do not allow shooting of birds (having gone to netting, etc. to
keep birds away from their fish), but don't know about the level of
'control' at private aquaculture facilities in the region. Anyone from B.C.
know what the situation is up north of 49 degrees?

Bradley F. Blackwell, Richard A Dolbeer, and Laura A Tyson. 2000. Lethal
Control of Piscivorous Birds at Aquaculture Facilities in the Northeast
United States: Effects on Populations. N. Am. J. Aquaculture 62:300-307.

"Abstract: Predation by piscivorous birds is considered a substantial
threat to the aquaculture industry. However, lethal control of birds at
aquaculture facilities has raised concerns about the effects on the
distribution and abundance of populations of the species killed. We
examined the relationship between numbers of piscivorous birds reported
killed under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) permits at aquaculture
facilities in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and species population
trends within the respective states. The USFWS issued 26 permits to 9
facilities from 1985 through September 1997. Eight species appeared on
permits, but only six species were reported killed: black-crowned
night-herons Nycticorax nycticorax, double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax
auritus, great blue herons Ardea herodias, herring gulls Larus argentatus,
ring-billed gulls L. delawarensis, and mallards Anas platyrhynchos. Over 13
years, the authorized number of birds to be killed per species or group
(e.g., gulls) ranged from 5 to 800 (mean = 240, SD = 300), whereas the
reported number of birds killed per species or group (1985-1996) ranged from
0 to 289 (mean = 83, SD = 118). Across states and species, the number of
birds authorized to be killed per permit ranged from 2 to 60 (mean = 27, SD
= 20), whereas reported kills ranged from 0 to 45 (mean = 12, SD = 10).
Herring gulls (N = 272) and great blue herons (N = 163) were the most
frequently killed species. The number of birds reported killed, relative to
systematic long-term population trends, is considered to have had negligible
effects on the population status of the respective species."


Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net