Syracuse.com - St. Lawrence County asks DEC to help train volunteers to harass cormorants on Black Lake

[HuntingNY-News]

A similar program has been conducted on Oneida Lake, where volunteers chase the birds by boat and scare them with whistling fireworks.

Michelle Gabel/The Post-StandardThis 2004 photo shows nesting cormorants on Long Island on Oneida Lake.Long Island on Oneida Lake Friday morning. In addition the negative impact on a waterways's fishery, this fish-eating bird's droppings are highly acidic and have the ability to wipe out vegetation.

MORRISTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Another showdown is brewing between fishermen and cormorants.

It seems the long-necked diving birds are multiplying on Black Lake, a popular fishing spot in St. Lawrence County. The birds, which eat a lot of fish, have been driven from other areas on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario where their expanding populations have threatened fisheries.

The Watertown Daily Times reports that a committee of St. Lawrence County legislators is asking the Department of Environmental Conservation to train and supervise volunteers to harass the birds on Black Lake so they’ll head somewhere else.

A similar program has been conducted on Oneida Lake, where volunteers chase the birds by boat and scare them with whistling fireworks.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog