Management responsibilities and policies for cormorants: United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has two somewhat conflicting mandates relative to the cormorant-aquaculture conflict: (1) to promote the development of private aquaculture, and (2) to protect and conserve populations of all species of migratory birds, including cormorants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's responsibilities for aquaculture are found in the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956, the Fish-Rice Rotation Farming Program Act of 1958, and the National Aquaculture Act of 1980. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's responsibilities for the management of cormorants dates from 1972, when they were added to the list of migratory bird families protected by the Migratory Bird and Game Mammal Treaty with Mexico (the provisions of which are implemented by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act). In accordance with federal regulations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues depredation permits to aquaculturists, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, for the limited take of cormorants and other fish-eating birds documented to be causing detrimental economic impacts. The routine issuance of depredation permits is viewed only as an interim measure, pending the eventual development and implementation of non-lethal and other control measures as part of an integrated management program designed to minimize the detrimental impacts of fish-eating birds on aquaculture.