Davans
Senior Member
I’ve got a group nesting next to us here on the lake. Driving my dogs crazy. I was going to see if anyone would come hunt them but have heard that it is illegal, or at least was. I couldn’t find any current info.
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Are Cormorants legal to hunt on Lake Sinclair?
- Thread starter Davans
- Start date
Mexican Squealer
Senior Member
Not legal
It`s a sight to see when they team up with white pelicans to herd fish up into the shallows on Lake Seminole.
little rascal
Senior Member
Hey, them White Pelicans are awesome! There used to be some hanging around on Lake Weiss. One day I thought I was seeing white caps splashing on a small island, after I picked up and was coasting by, it was 6 White Pelicans.
27metalman
Senior Member
I read an article once where in SC I think, they considered having a lottery to kill some of the off. Posted a meeting and so many people showed up they had to shut it down. State officials had no idea what a problem they had until they tried to solve it. Pulled the plug on the whole deal I think. We have them on our place... all they do is eat bluegills and crappie.
across the river
Senior Member
They had a couple of hunts on Santee four of five years ago. A bunch of tree huggers complained, so they stopped it a year or two. They tried to start it up again, but it got into the court system until more "studies" could be done. They will probably never have it again now. You can pull up video on youtube of it. It is funny watching people ride around in a moving pontoon boat shooting combatants. Looks a lot like the guys on the hill riding around shooting coots, only they were legal at the time.
Davans
Senior Member
So what’s so special about these birds? Endangered?
across the river
Senior Member
Years ago there weren't that many of them, sort of like bald eagles and all the other species they attributed to DDT or whatever else they said was killing them off. They put them on the fed's protected species list, and they remain there even though there numbers have exploded. When they had the grass carp eat all of the hydrilla out of Santee, it made the fish pretty easy pickings for the cormorants, so there would be thousands upon thousands of them there eating fish. People complained about that so, they appealed to the feds to get the permits to kill some of them off. Like any good tree huggers would, they didn't want people killing them so they tied it up in court. Since it is a migratory bird, it falls under federal regulations, so the states can't just set a season or make them an unprotected like they can coyotes, armadillos, or any other nuisance species that doesn't migrate across multiple states. You can call DNR and see what your options are, but since they are federally protected they probably want do anything. If they were resident geese, the DNR would just come out and shoot them for you.
I have never seen one, pretty impressive birds. Plenty of cormorants down on Clark's Hill, though. We're even starting to see them up here in the mountains now.
I saw a documentary once where some Asian people would raise cormorants and use them to fish with. They had a collar around their neck and a long string tied on them, and they'd dive down and catch the fish, but couldn't swallow it because of the collar. The man would pull it in and take the fish and chunk the cormorant back in the water after another one. Pretty cool.
MIG
Senior Member
You can't hunt cormorants on Lake Sinclair.
You can't hunt cormorants anywhere.
The law that protects songbirds and such
Protects the cormorant just as much.
While the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - or MBTA for short -
Allows hunters to take certain birds for sport,
Cormorants aren't on the list of things
That a hunter may shoot while it's on the wing.
Killing a cormorant is a Federal offense,
Made illegal in 1918 and it's been that way since.
You can't hunt cormorants anywhere.
The law that protects songbirds and such
Protects the cormorant just as much.
While the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - or MBTA for short -
Allows hunters to take certain birds for sport,
Cormorants aren't on the list of things
That a hunter may shoot while it's on the wing.
Killing a cormorant is a Federal offense,
Made illegal in 1918 and it's been that way since.
across the river
Senior Member
As has already been posted a couple of times, that is not true. While there is no set season for general hunting and they are protected as a migratory bird, you can hunt and kill them when the federal government gives the state a free pass to shoot them in areas they cause a bunch of damage. There are no permits for Georgia, so he can't kill them on Lanier9legally).However, it doesn't mean they won't be mowing them down legally in the mid-west (or possibly even Santee) for a while as long as it stays out of the judicial system.
https://greatlakesecho.org/2018/04/12/people-can-once-again-kill-cormorants/
MIG
Senior Member
The question was whether one could "hunt" them on Lake Sinclair - the answer is NO. I am well aware depredation permits may be issued - I believe in 13 different states - for the purpose of damage remediation, usually associated with aquaculture losses, as well as the controversial "cull" season allowance. This website is more or less aimed at Georgia hunters AND the question was specifically posed about Lake Sinclair - my answer stands. Based upon the original poster's question AND the term "hunting" as it is generally understood, I saw little need in discussing the various nuances of the MBTA and associated CFRs that might allow the take of this specie in certain limited circumstances outside the state of Georgia. I apologize if my Suessian response failed to meet your standard.
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Davans
Senior Member
I appreciate all of the responses. I now know more about Cormorants than I did a few days ago. Now I need to figure out how to move them along. I guess they got a nest or something on the vacant lot next to me. They perch out on the old dock post all day long.
BaldofPate
Member
Killem All
This,,,,we'll have a season for Sandhill cranes up here,,,,AG damage,,,,
killerv
Senior Member
I know someone who came across a banded one, he had the balls to call it in.
NMH5050
Senior Member
I saw that too on Netflix Wild China. They have been doing that for 1,000's of years. Crazy.
king killer delete
Moderator
Koreans do the same
