By AP
BAY CITY, Mich. – BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) - Michigan officials want federal permission to kill more cormorants to help reduce the shorebirds' impact on human fishing in the Great Lakes.
Russ Mason is wildlife chief for the state Department of Natural Resources. He says the DNR is seeking to re-negotiate an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the number of birds that can be culled.
The double-crested cormorant is protected as a migratory species.
Currently, 10,500 cormorants can be killed each year. The state wants to double the cap to 21,000 or begin a regional approach to managing the birds.
The Bay City Times reports Tuesday cormorants can eat more than a pound of fish each day and have devastated fisheries and annoyed anglers for years.