Syracuse.com - Cormorant hunting season began Super Bowl Sunday on two South Carolina lakes

[HuntingNY-News]

South Carolina Audubon Society officials aren't happy.

A special hunting season for cormorants began on Super Bowl Sunday on Marion and Moultrie lakes in South Carolina.

These are the same fish-eating birds that locally have caused concerns and resulted in preventative measures on Oneida Lake and Lake Ontario -- mostly harassing and moving them around. The DEC shoots some each year for research purposes (so their stomachs can be checked to see what they're eating), but regular hunting of these birds is banned in this state.

A total of 800 hunters qualified for the South Carolina hunt, following special training to make sure they were shooting at the right birds. The state Legislature has been been pushing for this hunt, insisting the fish-eating birds are causing big problems on the waterways, according to postcourier.com. Adult cormorants eat up to two pounds of fish a day.

Audubon Society officials in that state aren't happy with the hunt.

During the 1990s, cormorants nearly devastated the Oneida Lake fishery. A federally funded effort to harass the birds turned the tide, but that funding was cut in 2010.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog