LANSING, Mich. – State Senator Jim Barcia (D-Bay City), Chairman of the Senate Hunting, Fishing and Outdoor Recreation Committee, today voted to pass Senate Resolution 54 sponsored by Senator Jason Allen (R-Traverse City) out of his committee and to the Senate floor for consideration. Sen. Barcia, also a cosponsor, felt it necessary to quickly move on the resolution which requests that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extend indefinitely the depredation order for double-crested cormorants.

Double crested cormorants are large, migratory shorebirds that can eat over a pound of fish per day. Their dense nesting colonies destroy local beaches and vegetation and their guano causes damage to lighthouses and other structures like the Mackinac Bridge. All migratory birds are regulated by the federal government and the depredation order allows Michigan to use several methods to keep cormorant populations in check.

“Due to the overpopulation of cormorants, public beaches are closing, vegetation is being destroyed and fish numbers are down in some areas in northern Michigan,” said Barcia. “Without proper management, the cormorants will continue to damage our fishing and beaches, and spread to the rest of the state as well. We cannot allow their growing populations to overrun our local beaches and Saginaw Bay and harm our tourism economy and ecosystems. Continuing the depredation order will allow Michigan to continue to be the most pro-active state in managing these birds”

Under Senate Resolution 54, the population of double-crested cormorants would be kept under control to avert the depletion of the fishing industry, destruction to natural resources and bridge and beach deterioration due to cormorant guano.

# # #