THE Czech Republic’s Environment Minister has signed a directive that sees Cormorants removed from a list of protected species, making it legal to shoot them if they cause environmental damage, from April 1st, 2013.
Anglers and fishery managers across Europe have faced a huge problem caused by the explosion in Cormorant populations over the last 20 years, with the birds causing extensive damage to fish stocks.
However, the Czech Government is one of the first in Europe to identify that the population of these birds is too high and hurting fish populations.
A statement from the Czech environment minister Tomas Chalupa said: “The deletion from the list of specially protected species does not mean that the Great Cormorant will not be protected any more. Cormorants will be protected as all birds in the Czech Republic and the whole European Union under the respective laws and directives, but they will not be included it the list of the species that are the most threatened with extinction.”
The flip side of this story however is that the Czech state will no longer cover the damage that cormorants cause to fisheries – currently it pays tens of millions of dollars a year to fishermen in compensation.
It is hoped by angling groups in other European countries where cormorant populations are not regulated – such as France and Spain – that the move might encourage their governments to act.
From Tackle Trade World