> I also find it interesting that nobody goes after the cormorants which are
currently feeding here in large numbers alongside the mergansers.



They do - fishermen dislike cormorants the world over, as far as I've
noticed. They eat a lot of fish and along with pelicans, make a mess. I've
heard complaints about cormorants and terns on the Columbia River, to the
point of trying to have sandbars removed because they provided tern nesting
habitat. To me it seems obvious that there would be plenty of salmon for all
if not for habitat destruction, dams, overfishing etc., and that blaming the
birds and seals is kind of a desperate maneuver.



Teresa Michelsen

Olympia WA