LANSING – State Representative Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch) today announced that the House has passed a package of bills designed to control the troublesome cormorant population in northern Michigan. The bill will now go to Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm to be signed into law.
"Fishing is a vital part of the heritage and culture of northern Michigan, and the exploding cormorant population is a threat to our fisheries," Sheltrown said. "Fewer fish means fewer tourists, and less money pumped into our economy. We must be proactive in protecting our native fish species."
The package of bills creates a "cormorant control fund" within the State Treasury that could receive money or assets from any source. The bills also would require the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to administer a program dedicated to controlling the birds and reducing the damage they cause. The DNR also would be required to take part in a regional effort to reduce cormorant damage, and to seek funding from the Great Lakes Protection Fund to be earmarked for the cormorant control fund.
Cormorants' voracious appetites have caused declining fish populations in northern Michigan, which could severely hamper the tourism industry throughout the area. Anglers have been complaining for years that a rapidly growing cormorant population on the Great Lakes is destroying fish stocks, including alewives, trout, perch and salmon. The sport and commercial fishing industry has been calling for measures to reduce the cormorant populations.
"Fishing is an activity that has been passed down through generations, with fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and grandparents and grandchildren all heading out to Michigan's many lakes or rivers to fish," Sheltrown said. "The time to act is now. We must protect our fisheries for future generations to appreciate."