we seem to have just of late an influx of comerants They used to vanish when we were fishing, shouting usually worked, but of late they seem to have got a little more confident they will circle for a while and touch down in the water. We are about a 20 acre water split into 2 waters,last week the farmers took out about 40/50 canada geese as they were ruining seeded meadows, on speaking to the local farmer he said that he had seen upto 6 corermants on one day , maybe just a bit to much for us to sustian as a reasonable wild broon fishery, there are not many of us left any advise please ? its sorely needed i think

Yes - get Robson Green and his mate on the hovercraft.

The EA in England are a bit more amenable to issue cull licence,the SNH and DEFRA in Scotland are very obstructive towards angling clubs seeking a licence to cull.
We have been refused 3 times.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

Agree with jim in scotland its a nightmare , We recently brought it up with DEFRA only to be told " It might be best to stock water with trout about 4lb making it harder for the birds to attack the fish " We have since started a rambling group within the club we like going for walks about 5 in the morning

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[SIZE="4"]BRITISH BY BIRTH , SCOTTISH BY THE GRACE OF GOD..[/SIZE]

If we get refused this year we are talking about legal action.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

If you pressure them jim they tend to drag it out even if you have 5 birds or 500 they will come back to you and let you cull 1 bird a year , this seems to be the figure everybody gets to start with. If your club does go down the road of legal action i wish you all the best and would love to hear either way

all the best sj

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[SIZE="4"]BRITISH BY BIRTH , SCOTTISH BY THE GRACE OF GOD..[/SIZE]

Accidents can happen with those black canada geese when there is so many of them.Especially when they are stuffed full of fish and slow moving as they just cant fly due to so much excess weight and that early in the morning at low light.
Expensive feeding them 4lb trout at £4.50 pr lb, maybe the rspb will offer some subsidy for feeding these very useful pretty protected birds.
It is a problem that needs addressed for the future of all fisheries(this includes rivers) and the people with degrees rather than actual experience of these birds need to understand why people want and need a license for a cull.It is not a cull for all of them but a few to deter the many which benefits both fisheries and the bird itself and keeps it where it should be.

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Kevin

Completely agree.
I like watching these birds in their natural habitat, and I don't even mind seeing the odd one on a big expanse of water, like Windermere for example.
The problem is that you don't see the odd bird any more.
Windermere has a full-blown colony. I even see them fishing my local canal.
I've seen them fishing the Wye and the Irfon, and they don't just take the odd fish either.

A properly planned cull should be seen as good management.

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http://www.a-c-a.org

Opposite The Four Seasons hotel in St Fillans there are approximately 50 bhoys for mooring small boats and on any given morning you will see approximately 50 cormorants.One to each bhoy.
Answer? 22.50
T8
Steady finger.

Does anyone know what the fine is for shooting one of these? If its not too high then its got to be worth it!!!

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My Online Blog - http://zimbushwacker.blogspot.com/

Gopsall Fishing Club Website - http://www.gopsallfishingclub.org.uk