U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is taking action to increase the ability of catfish farmers and other aquaculture producers to combat predatory birds that consume millions of dollars of fish every year.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has been working with the U.S. Department of the Interior on predatory bird controls, said the FWS has published a notice in the Federal Register to allow the removal of nearly 23,000 more double-crested cormorants annually. Overall, the notice increases the annual maximum allowable take of double-crested cormorants from 51,571 to 74,396 per year through individual depredation permits.
“We appreciate Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s persistence on this issue that is so detrimental to our industry,” said Austin Jones of Moorhead, Chairman of the Delta Council Aquaculture Committee. “We also appreciate her inclusion of farm-raised fish eligible to receive mitigation for death losses due to disease or avian predation under the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bee, and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP).”
