It has come to our attention that the population of the double crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax Auritus, has risen dramatically over the years and is threatening the fish population in our waters. Anyone who has witnessed these birds feeding can agree that they are very skilled hunters capable of consuming several pounds of fish daily. Multiply that by 20-30 birds working a small 20-acre lake and you can imagine the type of destruction they can create.

Their main food source here in California is the DFG trout which are planted heavily in our waters throughout the state. But when the trout are all gone (usually within a few days after stocking), these birds turn to juvenile bass, bluegill and other native fish - which are not normally stocked - for their prey. It is a known fact that the populations of these native, non-stocked fish has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years - coinciding with the increase in the cormorant population.

Although we do not have official research documents to support these facts, we do have the statements of hundreds of concerned citizens. Many of which are dedicated anglers who have each spent hundreds of hours on the water and witnessed the actions and populations of these birds first hand. If you are one of these people, please sign our petition and hopefully together we can bring public awareness to the problem and come up with a reasonable solution.

Petition:

As concerned citizens of our planet, we would like to address the USFWS with an important issue concerning our environment. We believe the population of the currently protected double crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax Auritus, has risen to a level that is seriously damaging the populations of other species, most specifically the native fish of our lakes, rivers and ocean. These birds were placed on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protected bird list more than 30 years ago during a time when they indeed needed protection. However, a lot has changed in 30 years and we feel the laws must be changed as well. We request action be taken to limit the population of these birds to an acceptable level.

Signed,

1. Jeff Sun, Webmaster - FishingNetwork.net
2. Robert W Gray "Please put me on the list. Fished Puddingstone today and could not believe the size of the Cormorant population, It's got to be over 500."
3. Jeff K. "I watched them sweep through twice and knew where I was fishing was no trout, they did not get any. I saw them feed in two other areas where they were just going wild with the trout. If the DFG could stop stocking the lakes where the stripers were, although you could at least catch stripers and largemouths, they should definitely do something about the comorants. Count me in on this campaign. Jeff"
4. Brian Stern "yes you have hit it right on the nail. Brian,Sandy,Chad,Stern go for it!"
5. Dennis Lopez "I agree"
6. Bryan Friedman
7. Kyle Grafstrom
8. Young Ha "I absolutely agree, there is a major problem with the comorants. I myself have witnessed dozens upon dozens of these comorants at Santa Ana River Lake and Santa Fe Dam eating up the trout. I only been fishing for trout in California lakes for a relative short time, about 2 years, but there seems to be a major increase in the comorants especially this year. Unfortunately, this problem will only get worst because there is no reason for the comorant population to decrease. I feel it would be in the best interest of the DGF to do something now before letting the inevitable happen."
9. Bill Soon "Put me on your list of people who want something done about the cormorant problem. I've seen these birds gobbling the planted trout at Peck Road Park Lake, Tri-City Park Lake, and Downey Wilderness Park Lake. I had a cormorant swoop down and steal a good-sized trout right off my line at Corona Lake a couple of weeks ago. I was at Santa Fe Dam briefly this afternoon. No bites though 900 lbs of trout were stocked Monday. Guys I talked to were also having no luck, they pointed to a bunch of cormorants up in a tree and said that those birds took most of the fish out of the lake."
10. Richman "You have my support, Keep up the great work and site!!! "
11. Brian Cummings "I have seen comerants eat one trout after another at a number of lakes. They are really a nuisance when we are trying to fish because they either scare fish away, or gobble them up. Therefore taking a tremendous population of the trout that are stocked at our local lakes and depriving us of getting our moneys worth at the pay to fish lakes and DFG stocked lakes. Some population control of these comerants would greatly enhance our fishery and help to give us a chance at catching some fish. Its almost like we pay to feed the birds."
12. Mark Shin "Thanks for the your initiative in trying to bring the cormorant population under control. One of the lakes that I used to fish as a child had literally millions of bluegills and bass. Since the introduction of trout, the cormorants have followed the trucks to the lake and completely wiped out the entire bluegill population. Often I'm content catching the trout that's planted, but I'm conerned when I bring after-school classes of elementary students who are eager to go fishing. I've seen their disappointment after a day of catching nothing but bottom dwelling snails. thanks for the effort, Jeff. If there's any biological research that the DFG requests, I'd be glad to help. "
13. Robert Bender "Howdy, I have seen them very active @ Laguna Nigel lake. Staff tries to address the problem. You might want to contact them for a biased opinion. Good luck,"
14. Joey Schlone "I hate those damn birds and cold heartdely believe in what you said."
15. Ryan Usui
16. Lee Zapatka "I'm with you.."
17. AJ "I'm a bass angler who fishes most of the lakes in SoCal. I used to fish at a local lake down the street from my house (Puddingstone) and have witnessed hundreds of these birds wipe out an entire cove full of trout! They're very smart birds and work as teams beginning at the mouth of coves and work their way to the back. Each one coming up with a trout, swallowing it whole, then down again for another. One day I saw a few young teenage anglers throwing rocks at these birds and were actually stopped by the Park Patrol and warned to stop! Unbelievable! This situation has also affected the bass population (along with stripers, but that's another problem). I've witnessed these same birds scoop up small bass at Lake Perris! This situation has to stop, and I'll back you up 100%! Thanks for your involvement in a problem that's been going on for too long now."
18. Tim Wong
19. Mike Hakala "Went to Eldorado Park after work one evening and witnessed 6 trout being carried away by the Black Pests in less than one hour. Something needs to be done !!"
20. Darin Dohi "Let me know how I might be involved?"
21. Peter "I totally agree with You.Me and my friend Paul started passing flyers among fellow anglers regarding this very same case.We found few numbers to call.Here there are: U.S. Dep. of Fish & Wildlife 1 - 800 - 358 2104 ; State DFG 1-562 -590 - 5132. WE also contacted County Supervisor, and Jamie Clark (F.W.S.Director) at 1849 C STN.-W. Washington D.C 20240."
22. Ernie Johnson "I'll Gladly sign up. Keep up the good work!"
23. Ed Miller "My son Randy and I are with you 100%. Almost every lake that we have fished over the last year has a comorant population well over 300 birds. Not only do they eat the trout, they are noisey and very messy. Tell us what you want us to do and we will try to help in any way we can."
24. Randy Miller
25. Darrin Schiada "I've come to the conclusion that we don't have a southern California trout stocking program. Its a southern Califorina Comorant feeding program."
26. Eric Chung "comorants suck"
27. Richard Delgadillo "The population of the local comorant needs to be controlled, While fishing at places such as El Dorado Park Lake, Legg lake, Santa Fe Dam lake, Wilderness park lake and many others, I have witnessed comorants engulfing trout by the dozens. These birds are a nuisance to fisherman as well as the public, their sheer numbers result in an abundance of their organic waste which is very annoying. Some sort of action must be taken in order to resolve this increasing problem. "
28. Arvin Santos "I agree I go fishing at Downey Wilderness Park a day after it was stocked with trout and no bites for me or other fishermen. I always thought these birds were taking the fish away. I always see them but didn't think it was a problem. Now I can see why there aren't any fish after they stocked the day before."
29. Richard Garcia "What I saw today 2-16-00 Out at Laguna Niguel is a perfect example of what you are talking about ,the problem with the comorants. I witnessed on 2 ocassions today a angler bringing a trout in from about 25ft out with the trout breaking water and the comorant swooping down literally fighting a tug of war with the angler for the trout and won both times. But mainly through out the 6 hours i was there i also witnessed the comorants just reaching down under the water and pulling up trout and basically swallowing them i would say i saw this happen more than ten times today alone . so yes Jeff i'm with you. This has to be dealt with I'm glad you have provided us with this opportunity to Voice our concerns. hopefully we will be able to get some where."
30. Gary Collins "I agree, that some measure should be taken towards controlling these birds!"
31. birdie809
32. Tom Bixler "I am always seeing thes birds eating fish at Irvine Lake."
33. Richard Houston "I fish Irvine and Laguna often and every time I go I see those damn birds eating more fish than I catch. Its getting to the point where I need to bring a shotgun fishing. Remove the birds before things really start to get ugly."
34. Tom Aurand
35. Zach Lehmann "I see those stupid birds over at La Mirada lake eat about 70% of the trout that is stocked. the trout are always gone in 3 days. The dfg really needs to do something about it."
36. Tkbasoco "I have been to three different lakes in one month and each had a sizeable population of comorants. At Seccombe Lake in San Bernardino I counted twenty in one tree.I imagine it must take alot of fish to keep them fat and happy."
37. Chris Pomidoro "You have my support."
38. Richard G. Pearsall "I've been fishing Puddingstone Lake for about 20 years and have seen an increase in the numbers of these birds. The park rangers used to go out on the patrol boats and use shoot guns to scare them away but it seems they are doing nothing now. While fishing the lake last week, I wittnesed hundreds of comorants chasing and eating fish, There was a nice size bluegill dying close to shore that had seemed to be attacked by one of these birds but was to large to be eaten. What ever needs to be done I'm with you 100% "
39. Ron Allen "I agree! It's unfortunate that we can't co-exist with the cormorants since it's nice to see the wild birds living in incorporated areas around these lakes. Unfortunately it's NOT a natural situation since the birds don't have any natural enemies to control their populations. Maybe the DFG can spend some money controlling the birds and save some money on the fish stocking losses a trade-off. "
40. kaichiu "I agree."
41. Stephen Boyer
42. William Adkins.
43. jerry chang "In the recent years I have found that when fishing while cormorants are fishing I have drastically reduced my catch. I support any action to address the issue of cormorants eating our trout."
44. Kelly McCall "This problem has been largley over looked for some time. I do a lot of local trout fishing in the greater San Bernardino area. I made an early morning trip to Glen Helen to kill a couple of hours, the comorant population was at least 200 on one lake (not a very big lake). Nothing more frustrating than to pay good money for an annual fishing liscense and a fee to the park, then site on the shore watching the comorants eat all the fish. Please help stop the insanity."
45. James Pettiford
46. Gary Bowman "Please add my name to the list of those who are tired of watching those comorants gobble down the very fish I am trying to catch. Thank You for this effort"
47. Carl Lee "You guys(DFG) are in authority over this matter to serve the public(the rest of us). Do something about this problem else may people self-serve before you guys recognize the matter as a problem."
48. Roger Block
49. Bryan and Kathy Sibley, both licensed anglers. "We agree. May they choke on some bluegill."
50. James Johnson "Go Jeff, The comorants follow the plant truck to Mile Square Park & feast until all the fish are gone, then they sit in the trees & crap all over, DFG needs to start doing their job by MANAGING the wildlife, sign me up"
51. JOHNNY GARDEA "I LOVE FISHING,BUT IF IT COMES TO POINT WHERE THE DFG DOES NOT ADDRESS THIS "BIRD" PROBLEM SOON I CAN ALWAYS FISH OFF THE PIER OR OUT OF STATE I.E . I DON'T NEED A LICENSE FOR THAT. WE SPORTSFISHERMAN,WHEN THE TIME COMES, CAN PULL TOGETHER IF WE HAVE TO.AND PUT A LITTLE HURT INTO THERE BIRD FEEDING FUNDS.OR THERE PAYCHECKS"
52. Michael Hope "I agree with the petition!"
53. TCT1BC "Comorant birds I have witnessed have scared trout away from a area at Laguna which was hot earlier. Once the bird made it landing, the fish leave the area in protection of their own lives. I have lost a bite because of this bird. Also I was fishing Laguna creek and a Comorant was guarding a fish which it had killed to feed its piers. Please solve the comorant problem"
54. David P Smith "I also think something needs to be done about the cormorants. I have even seen them "fishing" in my backyard goldfish pond, taking the best of my breeders."
55. CaDaJones "I WAS AT A STRAWBERRY FIELD RECENTLY WHEN I HEARD A LOUD BOOM! It was an air cannon to scare off the birds and save the berries, maybe we could scare the birds and save the trout!"
56. JOHN CORY "this comorant problem is way out of hand i've seen these birds gobble up hunderds of fish everywhere i go. YOU HAVE MY FULL SUPPORT ON THIS ONE"
57. Judy Casey "I saw some funny looking birds on the wires that cross the river along the 91 fwy. I saw them nearly every day drying their wings. I had no idea what they were until I went fishing at Guasti. There they were swallowing trout like crazy. I think they ate most of them on stocking day, as the trout are still in shock and slow swimming. I couldn't believe it when one of them made a dash for a fish that the guy next to me was reeling in. Between the fisherman (if you call them that) snagging the slow swimming fish and the cormorants, Guasti is a waste of time and money!"
58. Jack Cahoon "Jeff- my wife and I have fished so. cal. for years and have noticed these comorants in greater numbers each year. And our fishing success has decreased. Could there be a better example of the impact these birds are having on our fisheries? Please add our names to your petition."
59. Debbie Cahoon
60. Steven Hathaway "Just spent the day at SARL. Didn't catch anything again, but I got to watch dozens of comorants gourging on trout. Any fish that could be dragged to the surface was soon torn to pieces in a bird frenzy. Some angry angler had also taken matters in their own hands, as there was about 6 dead coots right were I was at and steel shot littering the ground. No dead commorants though. Things are getting out hand and the DFG needs to do something before someone gets hurt. Management at SARL needs to do something, as I and many others are questioning our reasoning for coming out and paying $16 to watch the birds feed. The ball is in your court."
61. Joseph Nosek "Jeff. Although I am mainly a stream fisherman, I witnessed this problem at Peck Road Lake in January and I agree with you."
62. John Volkov "I fish all the lakes in Southern California. Every lake has a big problem with the Comorants eating the weekly stock of trout."
63. Ann Volkov "Comorants have increased tremendously in number over the last five years. They not only eat most of the stocked fish, they maim the larger ones which live for a short while then float to the top. Get rid of these birds."
64. Bill Shubin "The Comorants have become a huge problem. All the money we pay to have a fishing license and park fees, we don't have any fish to catch because of these birds. They eat them the day the trout are stocked."
65. Jerry Kojima "I don't mind ducks but cormorants suck."
66. BuddaWomn "I totally agree on this patition. these birds are seriously out of hand. on a recent trip to an very small park lake, i witnessed over 12 trout eaten by these birds.with 26 birds on a less than 5 acre lake. this is with a full lake of anglers, people clapping their hands and throwing rocks!! you can imagne what kind of feeding frensy goes after the park closes, or after dark.i would say that these birds robb us fisherman of over 60% of our fish!! the numbers of these birds is getting outragous.there is somtimes 50birds on a given day at other parks.. and each of these birds can eat 5 trout on a bad day! thats a good number of fish.that WERE NOT CATCHING!!!these birds are way out of hand and thier numbers need to be cut drasticly!! "
67. Bill "I agree the birds if you can call them that are way out of control, I think the lakes we pay the high fishing fees to should be held more accountable. If they want to stock the lakes for the comorants, they should drop the fees and give us a fighting chance."
68. L. Hemer "I agree %100. I belong to a private club, where I could catch a limit of bass at any time. In the past couple of years the Comorants have made a home at our lake and depleted the fish population down to nill. NOW I CAN'T BUY A FISH out of that lake. Yet the trees are still full of the UGLY BLACK BUZZARD-LIKE BIRDS. I THINK IT'S TIME TO ACT ON THIS ISSUE!"
69. Phillip Bonner "Count me in. I'm looking forward to some trout fishing next week, and hope that the trout will be there!"
70. Eric Taggart "Regarding the comorants, I do support your petition, but would like to see a bit more information on effective and humane methods of control."
71. Jim Franz "I was at El Dorado Park today 3/16/00 there was not a Trout to be had but there was 32 Cormerants i counted setting on the boat rentals in area 3. This is after F&G planted 900lbs. last friday."
72. Racquel Franz "If everyone would stop buying fishing liscenses then someone would listen."
73. Richard Solus
74. Cory Shiozaki "These birds are a real pest. Just as the problem existed in Northern California. They made a decision to destroy the Northern Pike in effort to balance the ecosystem from the pike eating all the trout up there."
75. Trink Koenig "Jeff, add me and my partner Sandy to the list of people tired of paying a lot of money to feed the Cormorant. Last week, 3/17/00, we were (trying) to fish at Yucaipa Regional Park. They had just stocked both upper and lower lakes the day before. We were at the lower. These birds NEVER leave the water during the day except to fly to the upper from the lower lake and vice versa where they continuously FEED. We went fishing again today, 3/24/00 and they had just stocked both lakes today. Again, this at Yucaipa Regional Park. This week was noticeably worse as far as the Cormorant problem. The third time I felt a tug on my line and had a Cormorant come up under it, I decided to pack my stuff and leave, What's the use. I just blew $28.00 on a license, $5.00 for the parking fee and another $5.00 to watch the Cormorant EAT ALL the fish. I won't go back and waste any more of my money until the bird problem is resolved."
76. Sandy Segarra
77. Richard Morales "These birds are a real problem, keep up the good work."
78. JJ Hughes "i hate those damn birds. they ate my fish and one tried to steal my stringer with 5 fish on it."
79. Brian Johnson "I totally agree with this petition. It is not only a Southern California issue, but living up here in San Jose, I can clearly see the comorant explosion is definitely statewide. There is a place near San Jose where I used to fish called the "Percolation Ponds." The DFG stocks these small shallow ponds of 500 lbs. of catchable trout during the season. Problem is, as soon as they stock it, comorants will literally engulf 75% of the trout immediatley. What a waste of time and money for the DFG and the respectable California fisherman."
80. Steve Mason "Please add my name to the petition."
81. JESSE HERNANDEZ "PLEASE SIGN ME ON YOUR PETITION"
82. Herman Frettlohr "Sign me up"
83. Mark L. Lynn "Hello, My name is Mark. I am a naturalist on a 12,00 acre wildlife reserve (Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve). It is managed jointly by CDFG, USFWS, TNC Riverside County Parks and MWD. I have worked here (stationed at Lake Skinner) for nearly five years now. I have watched the double-crested cormorant population go from 12 to 120 birds. I see the devastating effects this increase has had on our lake's fishery. Despite that I am a conservationist and favor native habitat and species, I do realize that there is a carrying capacity for each species. The artificial conditions we have set up at Lake Skinner have allowed the DCC to reproduce exponentially and way beyond its normal carrying capacity I would like to see a depredation permit allowed to 'harvest' at least 50% of the 'sea-crow' population. I hope this letter helps."
84. BarracudaBob "Jeff, I too have witnessed the destructive powers of those nasty little creatures on numerous occasions on all the lakes in the local area. Although like one of your previous petitioners, I too am a conservationist, but too much is to much. The "harvesting" of a percentage of this species would greatly impact the sportfishing community. I'm not talking wholesale slaughter, but launching flashbangs into the air just isnt working, and the population of comorants is increasing without delay. I would be among the first to cry "fowl".......should this harvesting were to be destructive to the population, but am in favor of a controlled program to rid our lakes our this crazed fish killing machine. I know this bird is only acting out of self preservation but in order to continue other programs dealing in the preservation of other species, the State needs our dollars. Please add me to your list. Thankyou"
85. JRF "I doubt if anything will actually be done about the problem with all the "save the environment" people who would rally to save the innocent Cormorants. However, I have really seen this bird's population grow over the last few years. For example, I went fishing today at San Dimas Dam where I might only see one or two of these birds in past. Today there were at least ten lined up on the "log jams" and few, if any, trout left in the lake for us fishermen to catch after a recent stock. I witnessed one of the infamous birds in the morning choking down a good-sized trout, which didn't make me too happy since I and a few other fishermen were hoping to catch some trout. I witnessed no trout caught all morning. Last year I could have come to this spot two weeks after a DGF plant and still catch several trout in half a day. In my opinion, these birds are certainly thriving from the trout stocking program, but, as I said earlier, I doubt if the DFG is going to do anything about it."
86. Arthur Marquardt "I agree something needs to be done about the Comorant problem. I fish several lakes in the L.A. and Orange Co. areas,everytime the lakes are stocked the Comorants are there gorging themselves."
87. Dean Keiper "My wife and I fished Rancho Jurupa Lakes (Riverside County Parks Lake) after a DFG trout plant last month. We both witnessed the cormorants catch several nice trout. We didn't have as good of luck and left disgusted. We can attest to the fact that more fish were taken that day by birds than by licensed anglers. Please let me know how we can be of help."
88. Al Melillo
89. Rich Mendoza "good luck!"
90. Aaron Brenner "I am in full support of severely reducing the comorant population. But for any animal rights activists who thinks they should be captured and brought to the ocean, WAKE UP. The ocean is also overpopulated with comorants. These birds have been getting easy meals far too long and have proliferated excessively. They are ruining the fishing in the ocean, too. Just ask any bay fisherman, who can't keep a 'chovy or 'dine on his line without one of these damn birds trying to steal it. For those who don't think they are adversely effecting the juvenile populations of barracuda, bonito, and mackeral, take a trip to Mission Bay(or any other) and open your eyes. The reality is they are overabundant everywhere and sad as it may seem, they must be killed off to control them. You don't sacrafice your ocean environment to only help out the trout fishereman. That's very narrow thinking."
91. Larry Smith
92. Tom Hansen "I have seen numerous fishing taken at the Santa Ana River Lakes. I wish I was as consistent as the birds."
93. Victor Hernandez "Hi my name is Victor Hernandez and regularly fish Santa Fe Dam, Puddingstone, Peck Road Park, and Downey wilderness park. This year fishing has been terrible. Every trip I see more birds catching and eating fish than I get bites.So please put me on your list."
94. Bryson Schaidt "Please add my name to the list. I am sick and tired of watching ALL the cormorants eat most all the fish! Last year at Lake Perris, I finally realized how many darn cormorants there really are. I swear to you, there must have been at least 400 cormorants fishing in the middle of the lake. And to think this is only one lake out of undreds in Southern California. As soon as we got closer to them in our boat, they all went under the water at once. When my family and I buy fishing licenses, we are giving up our money directly TO THE BIRDS! Here is my opinion, if the DFG doesn't want to do anything about the birds, they need to stock BIGGER fish instead of trout the size of your hand. Trout that small are only inviting to the cormorants. Also, when the cormorants are catching trout like crazy when the bite is dead, we fishermen tend to get a little frustrated and want to throw rocks at them. It shouldn't be wrong to throw rocks at these birds. Besides, there is so many of them, what is one less going to do? Thanks for trying to take care of this out of control situation. "
95. LJSRM "hey,went to a fishing club tournament at the ponds by block buster pavillion, the damn long necked devil birds caught more fish than anyone else. as much as i wish they were gone (and agree with you) you gotta admit, they are one hell of a fisherman."
96. Donald Wiseman
97. Omar Casas "We have to do something about these damn cormorants!!!! I fish at Alondra Park Lake and they ruin the fishing for everyone. You can't throw rocks at our lake because there aren't any on the shoreline. A few of us have agreed to take the matter into our own hands. We use heavy saltwater spinning rods with sinkers tied to the end to hit them when they come close. Even then the 300 pounds of trout only last a few days. Solution: put a bounty on them quick before other people take the law into their own hands."
98. Larry Bryson "I was going to buy a fishing license this year until I read about the cormorant problem. now I think I'll wait to see if the situation improves first. Also I think we should involve our state government representatives in this issue. Thanks for all you are doing. I'll sign your petition."
99. Mike Kammerer "Put me on the list. "
100. Jim McCarthy
101. Clement Li "Put my name on that list! Samn thing with Irvine Lake, I seen them flying over the center of the lake from time to time."
102. David C. Crawford
103. Ernie Andrews "I too, buy that expensive fishing license every year and have really noticed a decline in the number of game fish in most of the local lakes. It would be nice to be heard for a change instead of someone sitting on their duff in some office and telling us, that like to use the outdoors, that we don't have a problem. So please include me on the list."
104. Stanley e. Sutor
105. victor bedikian
106. Eric Arreola "I agree this should be looked into."
107. Bill Wilson "They're all over, everywhere I fish! They caught more fish than the kids at the Lake Skinner Trout Derby! "
108. Rick Mendoza - owner of Laguna Niguel Lake "I spend over $100,000 for rainbow trout each season. What started off to be 10 to 20 birds each season has turned into 100 to 150 birds. If we are caught shooting these birds to protect our investment we go directly to federal prison. I estimate that the cormorants eat at least $30,000 worth of rainbow trout each season! What ever I can do to help just let me know."
109. fishningfool "this is being sent in response to the big!!!!!!! comorant problems that seem to be getting worse all the time let me know what i can do to help!!!!!!!"
110. Johnson - Fellow fisherman and concerned Father "To all it may concern, I been fishing here in So Calif. For the last 35 years and I have seen a major decine on catching all species of fresh water fish. I believe is caused by our large Cormorant population. Were ever I fish I see these birds eating anything avaliable Carp, Bass, Trout and even Catfish not to mention Bluegill and crappie which are fish we teach out children and grandchildren how to catch when we go fishing together. Most city lakes have no fish left in them do to these birds. We need to control these birds or give up our rights as fishermen and stop buying State liecenes to fish. I will take all of us to get this problem resolved. I believe now is the time to take action."
111. Michael Jensen II "I am a licensed California Angler and I do support an initiative to resolve the problem regarding the Double Crested Cormorant and their effects on the fishery of California's lakes and costal waters."
112. es.petty "I absolutely agree with the comments about fishermen paying their dues for a fishing license and then being robbed of the enjoyment of fishing. I say lets have an open season on the Cormorant to control this pest. worked on the Coyote!!!!"
113. pudgeboydave
114. Sal "i've seen this bird eat so many trout he couldn't fly no more for an hour or more. it eats so much they look pregnant. i've seen this bird try to eat a trout so big it choked to death. at santa ana rivers lake they started a new program where they use screaming skyrockets and exploding loud bombs in the air to scare these birds away. not a permanent solution, but pretty effect one at that. you got my vote, get rid of these birds,they are just a big pain in the butt. just like the pidgon.its time the government took a long hard look at what they are protecting.dont get me started on the crows. just my two cents."
115. Jason Prewitt "Dear sir, Although I'm more of a Bass fisherman these days, I very much AGREE that these birds pose a threat our fishing waters. You see, not only do these birds feed off of the DFG stocked trout, which costs us all money. (believe me, 15 or 16 $ to fish these days is a lot of money), these birds also feed on the fingerling Largemouth and Catfish population. Bass especially, which are not stocked regularly, are dependent upon, catch and release, habitat support, and growth of their own spawn to multiply. With a degree in Biology from UCLA, my understanding of the food chain is thorough, however, I feel our fishing would much improve if these birds werent constantly gulping down fingerling Largemouth Bass. (please pardon the insensitivity). Its hard enough to find a nice place to fish in So Cal these days anyway, without too many of these birds."
116. Mary Bracamontes
117. dustin callahan "i am a licensed fisherman and spend good money a year for fishing and i dont want my money going to the birds"
118. rick d. vigil "hi there jeff, i would be more than glad to put my name on any type of petition that would curb or control this problem we're having with these birds."
119. Matthew "I like fishing"
120. Kris Barseghian "I mainly fish in the ocean but always pay the full amount for my fishing license. I thought that the money was going for a good cause. I do understand your concerns and support you 100%. The DFG needs to do something about these birds. Compared to the ocean, we have the mass population of seals basically doing the same thing. I used to go to Lake Piru, Pyramid, and Castaic years ago but soon lost my interest due to the decrease in fish population. Please keep me posted on this issue."
121. Gary Sharp "Regarding the comorants, I am in full support of your petition. Recently I fished Lake Perris & could not believe how these birds have become "socialized". They certainly aren't afraid of people. We clapped our hands, threw rocks, & still had to fight the damn birds to catch a fish. I would appreciate a bit more information on effective methods of control. Such as; should I use high power #4 shot in my 12 guage or would you recommend #6???"
122. Frances Garcia "I hate those stupied birds, they eat all the fish before I can even get to the lake. I say we should kill all of them"
123. James Updike "I strongly agree that something needs to be done about this problem."
124. Michael Morrow "I have witnessed this problem at Lake Cahuilla in LaQuinta, CA. I have fished there for several years and they always stock the lake with trout during the winter. The Cormorant's came in hordes this winter and wiped out the stock within a couple days. Of course the fishing was terrible and after the word got out, people began to quit fishing there. It's the only fishing spot in the Coachella Valley. The rangers tried to chase them off every week, but was loosing battle."
125. james e. pettiford
126. Don Johnson
127. SSRGPO "At Santa Ana River Lake i witnessed 2 of the birds feasting on the fish that i obviously was not gonna catch."
128. Jason "I do agree with this petition you are running!"
129. Jason Moreau ""Down with the Cormorant". I've fished all over the country (both salt and fresh) and I was in Marine Bio in College. The affects of this bird in our local waterways is astounding. These birds are given an advantage over and above nature's "plan". I feel that Cormorant abatement is something that the DFG needs to consider (immediately)."
130. Roger Harper " These birds are more adapt at fishing than we are. They are destroying the little bit of areas we fish local here in So Cal. They need to be regulated and or eliminated"
131. Don Steele "Let's do somethng quick!!!! These birds are a real problem."
132. Kurt Nakano " I definitely agree with the problem of the cormorant. The population of the bird is sky rocketing, and it seems to me that all of the inland waters this bird finds itself every year are losing populations of not only the stocked fish, but the fish who reproduce themselves naturally in the lake as well. I do not know what is the correct step to handle this matter due to the sensitivity of bird lovers and environmentalists toward the cormorant, but something needs to be done. I hope this petition is a start, and causes the California D.F.G. to do something to make all parties involved content."
133. Steve Nadell "Sign me up!! Keep up the good work. It is really appreciated!!!"
134. Mike Reese "well, I do not know of the problem first hand, but I know that there are alot of people upset over this issue.......I am an angler and a taxpayer, you have my support!"
135. Richard Bilinski "I love trout fishing!Count me for 6(easily can be 20 or more)I'm game to help our trout out!"
136. DANMERRIT "Please add my name to the list of fisherman who are tired of seeing dozens of these birds diving after and then eating all kinds of fish in my favorite fishing holes. Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake. "
137. John Genaway "Add me to the list,I also have seen those birds catch their limt way before me."Bag the Birds!""
138. silas johnson
139. Jamen "i live in westminister next to greer park as soon as the trout are stocked theyre gone witnessed many times damn birds gourging on my and your fishing fees "
140. charles street
141. Jerry Dominguez "The cormorant's must be stop NOW!!!! let me know how I can help!!!!!!! SOMEONE HELP US PLEASE!!!!!!! "
142. Richard Imamura "I agree, but with some reservations. Wiping out a species for the convenience of sports fishermen seems extreme. Perhaps removing their endangered status and allowing limited harvesting is the answer. Or possibly introducing a predator into their midst (hawks or whatever to attack them in the air; weasels to attack their nests) would control he population."
143. Jack McIntyre "I am originally from Texas and have seen hundreds of these killing machines move through a cove or sloughs and kill or injure fish. This not only includes small plant fish but also large bass. During bass tourneys we would find fish with large gouges on there sides, we thought that they were caused by gar fish. The Dept. of fish and game informed us that if it was a mark only on one side it was from a Cormorants hooked beak. We have found six pound bass damaged. As they move through an area they hit anything that moves and they don't eat all they kill. I am sorry to see it here in Ca. But it is worse in Texas."
144. kenneth johnson "i would like to help with the cormorant problem"
145. Dat M Nguyen
146. ken schwenck
147. Bob Carlson "Those birds suck! count me in."
148. Mick "You Have my support, i'm getting sick of these birds eating all the trout."
149. Jamen "i am with u all the way"
150. Mark Wilson "These birds are a menace to the lake which they inhabit. I think we should start baiting up castaic trout lures and start birding for cormorant. I think a 5/0 should do. NO net required, just a short bat."
151. David Sun "I agree"
152. Roger Daugherty "Thanks, glad to help out in any way I can. It is a HUGE problem!"
153. Richard Ramsey
154. Jim Pack "Legalize the taking of these birds and lets go a cormorant hunting."
155. Jim Morishige "I agree, I've seen those bird swallow big trouts no with problem."
156. Trish Meyer
157. James Shorten "these birds are a problem ! at yucaipa regoinal park that has maybe 7 acres of water I counted 106 comorants all feeding on the dfg stock. In this 11 foot deep pond they will definitly make a dent in the population"
158. jasonb251 "yeah i live in downey and at wilderness park there are loads of black squakers when i fish there i always briing a slingshot for the one that swoops down on my trout"
159. peter z "you got my support man those damn squakers eat more fish than i catch at the local trout lakes"
160. Jim Neiman "I have seen 50 - 60 Cormorant at both San Dimis Canyon Lake and Peck Lake taking their fill of stock trout we licensed fishermen payed for."
161. Robert Davis "Yes!! Please try to stop the huge cormorant invasion. Best option as I see it is that They might be sport hunted, YES, that would be a good thing."
162. Daryl Silberberg "I agree!!"
163. Paul E. Skendrovich
164. Steve Driesens "Please add me to the list. Anything to help what has been a dismal fishing season, probably due in large part to the cormorant problem."
165. Jim Branscomb "I'm a sportsman and an animal lover. I like birds and I like fish. But, when one species begins to destroy another, then somehow the balance of nature has gotton out of wack. Therefore, I recommend that we get rid of a lot of dirty birds while we still can. Anyone got a shot gun?"
166. Bill Morehart
167. The Robledo Family "As a family of liscensed angler's, we agree that something needs to be done about the pesky Cormorant's."
168. kevin brown
169. Chris Hernandez
170. Peggy Trotman "Cormorants suck"
171. Dean Nakanishi
172. Joel Cid
173. R.K.Ware "I have witnessed the problem when I go fishing after a trout plant in L.A. County."
174. Dale Logan "I have fished for the last 25 years from the Midwest to the west coast. I thought the Cormorant, better known as the Water Turkey in the Midwest, problem was extremely serious in Oklahoma and Texas. I have recently moved back to California from Missouri and Texas. The problem is just as bad here. I can't tell you how many fish I have caught, and released, that have marks on them from Cormorants. They have to be hurting our very fragile fisheries. "
175. Myles Breen "reference the cormorant problem if it helps at all we are experiencing the same problem on our waters near rugby England . We are currently trying to deter them by stretching ropes with nets underneath the water and also ropes across the water with plastic bottles. This may sound mad but in England officially we are not allowed to shoot the cormorant but they are decimating most fisheries in the UK."
176. Edward "I agree the cormorant needs to be better controlled, while i was at wilderness park in Downey I saw one of these birds eat four (4) trout within 45 minutes, he did better then i did, also at Irvine lake a friend & I was doing real good until one of these birds swam to the hole we were in & brought up a nice trout & swallowed it, needless to say the fishing bite stopped. Whenever I take my children fishing & we see one of these pesky birds, we need to find another place to fish, it bites taking 4+ children fishing & having to relocate because of these birds."
177. Kenneth Harbor
178. William L. Rustin "This is a real problem!"
179. Eric Steen "I have great respect for the natural world, and advocate proper care and stewardship of our natural resources. I support efforts to save as many species, and habitats as possible. There is a point at which the natural and human needs collide. The issue of the Cormorant is clearly one of those intersections. These birds have clearly become more than a nuisance, and are a problem which continues to escalate. It has gotten to the point that anglers on a budget - such as me – feel that there is no real chance of fishing success due to these birds eating an inordinate number of planted fish. I have turned to fishing in the ocean as an alternative to my first love – trout fishing. Please do something, before I, and others like me; give up this form of recreation. "
180. Matt Woods "I believe this is a serious problem for the waters of the west. If we do not do something regarding this problem, the condition of all fishing waters will be in serious repair. Please do something to help the tax payers that enjoy taking our families fishing.
181. John Garcia "Ive spoke to many angelers on the local lakes here in riverside and we all agree that the problum here is out of controll , to the point that the birds are eating more fishs than we anglers are taking. The city lakes are on the small side, so it makes it that much easyer for our fethered friends to herd them into the coves and slauter them.They have become so bold that they will wait for the fisher-persons to hook in to one of them and then just pluck off the! line. I've spoken to the park ranger and all that he could tell me was that it was a federal concern.
182. Vernon Tuman "at GLEN HELEN Fairmont Park and many more need a stop gap measure go for it"
183. Edgar Soltero "I certainly believe there should be some type of control over the population of these birds. There has to be a way to accomplish this in a fair and environmentally safe manner. Allowing these birds to be hunted to control there populations will have a great impact on them today but will eventually do more harm than good for them. I am an avid fisherman and understand that there are going to be most days where you are going to get skunked. If you fish on county lakes you already feel me, if not you will. But there is also no purpose in going out to fish if there aren't any fish to begin with. I totally understand the frustrations these fisherman have expressed regarding these birds, I have had a few run ins with them myself. They literally swoop down and swiped fish off of my line no more than 5ft away from me. It has happened on the shore and in boats in various lakes in Orange Co. and the San Gabriel Valley. We (fisherman) are in total need of a level playing field in catching these fish we pay a whole lot for. As you already know fishing for our favorite species can get pretty expensive now a days, limiting at least my days out on the water. People including myself are resorting to these private lakes to have not only a good time but to better the odds at bringing home dinner. We are paying half of what it cost to purchase an annual license just to have 1 day of decent odds at catching anything. That is why so many of these private lakes are popping up all over Southern California just to suffice the demand for decent fishing and decent fish. Even then, you must try an attend the promotions these lakes have as soon as possible to not only compete with the birds but all the fisherman within a matter of days after stocking these fish to have a chance. This pretty much keeps most people out of the picture since most of the time they stock the lake early in the week so they can spread out leaving the birds to feast on a good chunk of the stock(our dinners). Fishing is a common ground for all walks of life. It allows people to open up when out there without thinking twice about who this person is or what they believe in. What they know for sure is that they have at least one thing in common, the desire to catch a fish. You will find kids walking along the shore line sometimes without a clue about what they are doing. What I can guarantee you is that this kid will learn something from someone on that shoreline that will make him or her a better fisherman. That is an experience that all fisherman have gone through and still even at whatever age they are now. You can never learn enough from fisherman out there who will not hesitate to help, when sometimes not even called upon. We go the extra mile to get our kids and others involved but in order for this to grow on them they need a story or two of there own to keep them involved. A constant denial of the feeling you get when a fish is tugging at your line and eventually landing it, will eventually take its toll and turn these kids away. We already have our stories and it would be devastating for our youth to miss out on what we have already experienced. These are not natural fish we are talking about here these are fish breed for the fisherman in which I don't mind splitting. But we both have a whole lot to lose if something isn't done about this very soon."
184. The Berry family - Greg, Jim and Elizabeth. "Definitely put us on your list. We were recently at Santa Fe Dam. We didn't even catch a cold, but the stupid birds did. Maybe DFG can make a hunting season for these birds."
185. Jonathan Bole "I am totally with you, I regularly fish a small pond by my house where the DFG stocks trout only a few times in winter. Because of this the Cormorantsdimish the trout population to absolutely nothing less than two weeks after the stocking. There are about a dozen cormorants at the pond each day and each is capable of eating three to four trout a day. I am very sick of competing with these birds."
186. Rudy J. Badua
187. Anthony C. "Last Monday I fished at Puddingstone, for my first time, and I was amazed at the large number of Cormorant. Puddingstone was stalked that day so I figured it would be a great day of fishing. During nine hours of fishing I was lucky enough to catch a 1 pound trout, I am surprised the Cormorants did not get it before I did. Only one other person that day, during the time I was there, caught one a far as I know, and he said his trout was smaller than mine. Something definitely has to be done about the Cormorant population. Is there anything good that comes from them?"
188. Joe Maduro "Yes, these cormarants must be dealt with. Let's control their numbers before it gets further out of hand."
189. David H. Li " Yes I agree the cormorant can be a troublesome bird, however, a species' population is dependent on what I see as 3 major factors, food supply, protection and habitat. With all 3 of these in abundance the environment can support a larger number of animals. The balance of Nature has changed and of course the population of, the bird is going to rise. The normal natural factors that would keep the bird's population in check has been delegated to a secondary role and/or is no longer principal in the bird's niche, causing the bird's population to grow geometrically. In the end, if the bird's protection were to be lifted many angry anglers would travel their lakes toting a BB or Pellet gun ((This I have already seen)) and the bird will quickly once again have to fall under protection. However, if a bounty were to be placed on the bird, with a daily limit, until the bird was down to acceptable numbers might be able to answer the problem, with rangers and/or other authorities keeping track of limits. On the other side however, there might be away for you to stop stocking....but then there might be mad anglers knocking on your doorstep. In the end, I for one, will more than likely find that whatever step that the USFWS takes to control the Cormorant problem short of denying me access to my fishing waters will, I am sure be satisfactory to me."
190. justin wyndham
191. michael.leonard "Yes there is a problem with fhese birds there is an over abundance ofcomorants"
192. richard sunda
193. dolores sunda.
194. Rocky Westbury "YES I THOROUGHLY UNDERSTAND OUR PROBLEM. I USED TO WORK FOR FISH AND GAME (FILMORE STATE FISH HATCHERY) AND THE COMMERANTS AND NIGHT HERON FEED SO RAVENOUS THEY COULD NOT FLY AWAY AFTER THERE FEAST ON RAINBOW TROUT.AT NIGHT THEY WOULD COME BY THE DOZENS TO FEAST LITERALLY EATING THOUSANDS A WEEK OR MORE! THAT'S A LOT OF LIMITS. I TELL YOU THE STATE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO KILL THEM. LITERALLY THEY WOULD BE STUCK IN THE RACE WAYS AND COULD NOT FLY AWAY UNTIL THEY DIGEST THERE FOOD. BELIEVE ME I THOUGHT ABOUT USING A 2 X 4 TO PLAY HOME RUN DERBY AND SING HEY LITTLE BIRD DON'T FLY AWAY."
195. Louis Morones
196. Desi Flores
197. Eric Aubochon
198. Mike J. Flick ""I agree" these birds have become a very large problem. We fished Lake Hemet this weekend,2/17/01, just after a plant of 2400#, with very pore results. I don't claim to be the best fisherman in the world but surly after that kind of plant you should see some result. I know the birds are a problem because for 3 mornings I say the large resident population stand watch over the lake. The birds would congregate in the same area "which happened to be the closest spot not occupied by campers to the planting site" each morning. Then they would all start to feed. At this point all the stocking was is a cormorant feeding program. I don't know about every one else but I don't enjoy my fishing license fees going to feed cormorants. At this rate it would be more beneficial and cost affective for everyone to go the hatchery once or twice a month, pick up our five fish and go home. "
199. Art and Gabe Deyo "Please place my name on the list. I have taken my son fishing at Corona, Perris, and numerous small park lakes. The fishing is so dismal that we are quiting. Tomorrow will be one last hurrah at SARL. I am sure we will again be skunked! Going to take up bicycling instead. The environmentalists and the government employed DFG people will do nothing to stop the cormorant problem. Only strong political activism from the fishing community will cause any changes. Lets organize and start a Political Action Committee (PAC). All of the tree huggers forget where the wildlife management money comes from, our licensing fees!"
200. Jeff Avery "I am Jeff Avery, So. cal resident for my life. I am an avid bass fisherman. I fish at least once a week . My local lake is Peck Road Park Lake, it is close and easy. Cormarants have "raped" this lake that was once a healthy fishery. They eat bass too, not only trout. Put my name on the list and if we can start shooting them let me know! "
201. Richard "I agree that something should be done if you could send me something I will take it to the lakes where I go fishing. "
202. Joseph Unpingco "I support your cause but are they really planting the amount of trout they say? I think there should be an investigation on this area!"
203. paul fajardo "There is an easy way to reduce the cormorant problem, allow hunters to shoot them, impose no limits, this will be no cost to the tax payer. "
204. Tracy Mintz "we definately have a big problem with the cormorants here in San Bernardino county. we can count at least 100-200 @ glen helen regional park. when they come and stock the trout at the lakes by the time they want to bite, the cormorants have eaten all of them. we buy our fishing licenses and pay another fee which usually $10.00 if you go by yourself and $15.00 if my dad goes with me, for the fish to get eaten by the cormorants I don't think its right to protect them dumb birds. we need to do something. please let us know if we can help in any other ways. thank you."
205. harold patrick, and kathy patrick "this comment is to complain about the cormorants eating our trout before we cam even catch them after they are planted in the lakes in southern california, we have a valid fishing license . the cormorants eat the fish right after they come out of the tranquized state they are in when they are put in the lakes. thankyou"
206. Grady "You have my support. I'm from northern CA. and the problem exists there also. In my opinion they should be thined out in a big way, what the hell good are they anyway? "
207. Ross Colbert "I agree 100% that the cormorants are a growing problem. I've watched them multiply over the past few years at the city lakes where I fish. These birds have lost all fear of humans, and at the very least, they chase the trout around and spook them so they will not bite. I've seen cormorants eat trout that were at least three pounds, as well as juvenile largemouth bass. Every city lake has at least 20 of these pests. Something needs to be done"
208. Geoff "Count my vote in against the cormorants. I used to work on a fish farm up in Fresno and we got a depredation permit to kill a limited amount of these birds. According to estimates, we figured ea. one ate about 10-20 lbs./day. I fished Clark Park the other day and there were about 15 cormorants...at Laguna Niguel Lake there must be about 30-40...too many."
209. frank "a high-power pellet gun works well but it is more fun to use a pistol crossbow when they get close enough. i wish i had exploding rubber trout,though."
210. Ryan Gibbs "cormorants tick me off. I fish at lake Poway and i always see cormorants eating the trout that my money helps pay for and i don't like it. I agree that the DFG should do something about this problem. thank you for hearing me"
211. Cathy Potter "I fish at Hemet Lake and have noticed the population of this bird increase dramatically the last few years. Coincidentally, the fish population seems to be diminishing. These birds feed on the newly stocked trout as soon as they are dumped into the lake."
212. Todd Sullivan
213. Robert Taylor
214. Bill Donovan "Absolutely put me on your list!!!! The most egregious offenders are the cormorants in the small city lakes (ponds!). My buddy and I take our small sons to Tri-City, right after a plant, so they can learn to fish, but the birds are in such large numbers that I would bet they're taking 75% of the DFG plant, or better. Hell, they'll take 'em off a line. SOMETHINGS gotta be done, this is just one small example ... I could go on for hours LOL Thanks"
215. R. Brown
216. Daryl "I recently took my children fishing at Lake Isabella in Kern County . The weather was not that good but the crappie where in their nomal spots. Everything looked as though me and my children were going to do well : Problem there was about 25 cormorants sitting over the artificial brush piles. Time and again I saw Cormorants come to the surface with good sized Crappie. This was extremely frustrating as we did not catch a fish!!! These Cormorants have been sitting on that lake for months. The numbers of fish that they have eaten is probably staggering! I am willing to do what is needed to get action."
217. Keith "My name is Keith, this morning 5/4/01 i went fishing at castaic lagoon ( basin ), there were cormorants flying in and out of the lake, i was watching them swim around and then dive after fish and chase them, only saw a couple of fish eatting though, but i was only at the lake for a couple of hours."
218. Scott Lopez "you can add me to your list. I have witnessed this bird taking hundreds of fish over the years. It almost makes you want to take a shotgun with you when you go fishing. If it were legal to do, you know us anglers would have taken care of this problem along time ago."
219. Bill Gun "I live in Santa Maria, Ca. and no matter where I fish within a 50 mile radius, there our those fish hoardin birds. I think there should be some sort of controlled eradicathon program and soon."
220. Mark "My Name Is Mark And My Email Address is [ManalishiGreen] And You Have My Support For These Pesky Birds!"
221. Albert Maestro "Good day Jeff ,please add me to Your list, if we don't stick together to solve this problem ,our entire lake fishing indutry will SEIZE TO EXIST . I want My Children to experience trout , bass, fishing as I have . Brgds Concerned fishing Father"
222. Frank Marler "Please place my name on your cormorant petition. Thanks"
223. Paul Helmen "put me on the list"
224. David McGee "I have to agree the Cormorant has started to cause a serious problem in the lakes near me. It is hard to even get a couple fish in a whole days fishing."
225. Benjamin Green "Cormorants Baddd!!!!"
226. Mike Farnam "I am new to all of this, but I agree that something to control these birds."
227. David Stans "Hello, my name is David and I would appreciate if you add my name to this petition about the cormorants"
228. Ms. Justin Lee Gagnon "Add me to the list! Thanks"
229. Tim Haugen "i would like to place my name in support of controlling the cormorant problem"
230. Racoonies2 "The Black @#$@# Need to be weeded out. I pay for a license every year and every time I go to fish I have to throw rocks just to get them to move out of the way. I am an animal control officer for a Southern California outfit and I dont like to see an animal harmed but somthing has to be done!!!!! I have never seen such a massive problem as with these birds. Please..if you want us to keep buying a license...DO SOMTHING!!!!!!!"
231. Ed Knapp "I am an avid trout fisherman and can be located at any one of a dozen c. lakes any weekend. The comarantt problem you mention is real and even larger than you imply. Add my name to your list -- "
232. John Conrad "I agree 100% with your efforts.please add me and my family of voters (3) to your list and thank you for doing something about it"
233. Anne Thompson "Everytime they stock the Rancho/Jurupa fishing lake the birds swarm and eat all the trout. It is discouraging to licenced fishermen because they are not even getting a bite. Most fishermen will only go there on the day that the lake is stocked because very few stocked fish survive the rampage of the birds."
234. Scott Pohle "HAte those Birds all over so cal lakes"
235. Gary Hoskins "Happy to help with the bird problem"
236. MICHAEL "LEE" PIERCE "IM TOTALY FOR ERADICATING THE ENTIRE SPIECES , I HAVE EXPERIENCED THERE TERROR @ LAGUNA NIGEL LAKE AS I FISHED FROM MY FLOAT TUBE AND WITNESSED THESE SCUM BIRDS STEAL FISH AFTER FISH AWAY FROM ME , POWER TO THE ANGLER "
237. Vinny Fazzino "As an avid fisherman I believe that the DFG needs to control this issue."
238. Walter Benson "Their population needs to be thinned out. I don't know how it should be done, I can't imagine a hunter eating a bird that smells and tastes fishy. Fish hatchery are also having a problem with these birds eating the money spent by the states fishing fees. Thanks, Walt"
239. Milly and Hugh "I agree with you"
240. Derek "fished yesterday and hooked 10 cormorants - lets take care of this and the sea lions- having these animals protected was a good idea, but now that the population is unhealthy the dfg needs to do something about it - either culling or depredation permits- HELLLLP!"
241. JTL "I agree. This is terrible. To pay big bucks for a fishing license, lake permits, parking fees and then see these birds fix it so the lake is emptied of trout only days after stocking is ridiculous. We can make a diffference."
242. Han B "i agree too, Saw a bunch of trout stealers on the trees gobblin up all the trout. They eat 3/4 of the trout poplulation and the trouts are too stressed to feed. The DFG should do something to fix the problem. "
243. Greg Chiles "I am tried of paying money to feed the Cormorant population. I have seen one hundred Cormorant eat five-hundred pounds of trout in less then two days at Santee Lakes. "
244. Eric Stayton "I have seen a number of these bird killing many fish at Dixon lake every time they stock"
245. Craig Stoker "I'm from Iowa, but perhaps this will help. Out here in the plains we see the same problem.  As I fish Iowa, Michigan and Missouri I am amazed at the number of cormorants and the fish they consume. When the lamprey eels migrated into the Great Lakes and decimated the lake trout, it took years to find a chemical which would kill them. We need to convince Fish & Game there is no significant difference between the devastation caused by the lamprey and what is happening because of the cormorants. Please add my name to your list."
246. ROY JENNINGS "SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, WHAT USE ARE THEY ANYWAY ?"
247. Roland Paquin "Jeff, you're right, the birds are a big problem. I am also tired of paying the fishing license fees so the DFG can feed the Commorant. Please add my name. Thanks"
248. Jeff Heames
249. Emmitt Mixon "Keep up the good work!"
250. Doug Bingham
251. Kellen Ellis - Ellis Mercer Bass Team
252. Gordon Jorgenson "I have been lamenting the cormorant issue for about 5 years now. The thing that blew me away and started it all for me was being eyewitness to one of their "foraging efforts" as I was fishing one day. My dad and I were at Lake Amador, a small lake about the size of Barrett, up east of Stockton (where dad lives) in the foothills. We're wormin' off this point and catching a few average sized bass and notice all kinds squaking and water splashing in the cove just around the point. We t-motor around to check it out thinking that maybe the bass are goin' off on a school of shad....... To our complete amazement and later complete HORROR we see approximately 50 or so cormorants that have a rather large school of hatchery trout (1-2 lbers.) pushed up into the cove. It was one of the most well-orchestrated natural events I have EVER seen. The smart @ss devil birds would actually take turns, some eating, while the others kept the school of trout hemmed into the cove. It was one of the most amazing yet maddening things EVER!
253. Bill Hobbins
254. Ross Colbert "Yeah!!!! Not only do they eat the fish, the chase them and get them spooked so they won't bite.  But we can't harass them...."
255. Doug Young "Sign me up. It make me sick watching those freekin ugly birds eating every fish in sight. KILL EM ALL"
256. Ronson Smothers
257. Fred & Linda Claudius
258. Tracy Mintz "I will gladly do our part in ridding of these pesky birds! I regularly fish the county lakes , Hesperia and some other lakes not mentioned! I like to fish at least twice a week if not more. I have been absolutely disgusted @ the amount of our fish that these birds eat that I have been thinking of not buying my fishing license until something is done about the problem! keep up the good work and thank you!"
259. Harold Patrick "keep up the good work!"
260. Kathy Patrick "please fix this problem! good job!"
261. Bob "Jeff,I live in Western Kentucky,we have the same problem with the Cormorant.They not only are eating the Fish, but the Trees that they Roost in at Night are even Dying from they Droppings."
262. jon bell
263. CHARLES DE MARIE "Something has to be done to control this problem. I've witnessed their destructive presence in every lake I've fished all through the Southwestern United States. Let's eliminate this potential threat before it destroys our fisheries. "
264. James Quan "These birds injure the fish they can't eat and the trout end up dying. While fishing at Lake Guasti, I snagged a fish by the tail one time casting a lure and I noticed long bruises on the body and the gills were all chewed up. This fish was 18inches and around 1 1/2 pounds and was probably too big for the bird to swallow. I've never seen a trout with these injuries before in 20 yrs in So Cal fishing. I also notice no more blue gills in the lakes or the small mosquito fish that control the mosquitoes. Have these birds affected these species too? These birds have definitely tilted the balance of the eco system here in So Cal. "
265. John "I live at Eagle Lake in Lassen County 6 mos out of the year and work with the Dept. of Fish and Game Biologist's as a volunteer on occasion. I have monitored many trout plants at the lake and I am always appalled at the number of fish that are taken by this worthless bird. Eagle lake is a trophy trout fishery and has a 2 fish limit. The cormorants are a serious problem as they take more fish than the Fishermen. I for one would like to see an open season on them."
266. Kenneth Kimura "I agree with this problem. Please add me to your list."
267. Fred & Linda Claudius "I agree"
268. BILL SECOR "AT ROYAL PARK IN SIMI VALLEY, D.F.G. STOCKS TROUT WHICH ARE MOSTLY EATEN BY CORMORANTS. AT BALBOA LAKE IN VAN NUYS THEY FEED ON TILAPIA AND FERAL PLECOSTOMAS WHICH HAVE ESTABLISHED A BREEDING POPULATION. AT CASITAS THEY EAT BOTH THE D.F.G. TROUT AND THE LARGER FISH BOUGHT FROM CALAVERAS FISH FARM. ALSO I HAVE NOTICED FOR THE FIRST TIME WHITE PELICANS WINTERING OVER AT BOTH BALBOA LAKE AND CASITAS. ABOUT 75 BIRDS HAVE BEEN AT CASITAS SINCE FALL
269. Mitchell Reynolds "I am support this petition. The pond at work has been taken over in the past 6 months. It will not take long for the birds to commpletely clean out our pond and they will move on to the next pond or lake. I hope something can be done soon. At the expontial rate they are growing we will have no place in Southern California to fish. As it is now I have to travel 2+ hours to get to a decent lake. I read the genleman speak of Lake Skinner, this was a productive lake. It has not been worth the trip the last couple of times I went there.
270. Janet "i have lived in this area for ten years by a lake and several community ponds .i would frequently take young people fishing , now that has become a waste of time unless you just want to sit and watch a bunch of black eating machines swallowing one fish after another. i have come to fully understand why those people in new york killed those 800 comorants on that island. there are enough of them on the small lake that i live by to over populate the whole earth!!!!!!!!!"
271. John Schrader "Yes I have seen the Cormorant's destory a natural fishery in a matter of days. I have seen them devour freshly stocked waters. Something needs to be done NOW !!!."
272. dave sanftner "i agree ! i go to some of my favorite places and they are over ran with the damn birds ! then the following year comes and i go out and i see more than the year before . ! i think that it has totally become a problem that needs to be delt with ! i have a BA in wild life and conservation and have done some research on them . i am from colorado originally and now reside in san diego . but even back home there is an incresing problem with the birds ! what i have found is this in my research . these birds seem to drastically deplete the fisheries . so that the med. size fish have no chance to grow . plus with the depletion of them it in turn hurts for the spawning season that year and then the fallowing years to come ! if something is not done we can loose some of our most prized fishing lakes and ponds !"
273. Raffi H. "You bet I am going to add my name to your list, If we do not stop this no one will, so lets do what it takes, put them them on the hunting season list."
274. Bob Tluchak
275. Kimberly Gulley "i live in kern county. i notice that the lakes that have a large population of these birds have poor trout fishing. even a day or two after stocking. at one lake in particular(hart park), i never see anyone fishing there at all. i think this is because the fishing is so poor. i've noticed they tend to prefer the lake with small islands in them(i.e. hart park, truxton, and buena vista). it doesnt seem to affect the fishing at buena vista so long as they stock the larger trout. last year i would knock em dead at truxton. easy limits in an hour or two. plus i would catch and release three or four more on lures. the cormorants showed up this year and the fishing wasnt half as good this year. i think the birds follow the stock truck. "
276. Charles Mc Intosh
277. Andruex "Sign me up ! I strongly agree with you about these ugly birds. I recently am new to the sport of fresh water fishing,  and i have noticed these birds diving under water chasing away my fish.I support you one hundred percent. "
278. Tomas Whitley
279. LDIESELMAN "HERE IN CALIFORNIA WE ARE BEING OVER RUN .I BELONG TO A PRIVATE CLUB.WE HAVE TWO SMALL LAKES THAT WE STOCK WITH TROUT AND CATFISH.DEPENDING ON THE SEASON.WE STOCK FISH EVERY FRIDAY MORNING.WHEN WE STOCK TROUT THE CORMORANTS ARE THERE BEFORE THE LAST TROUT IS IN THE WATER.I HAVE SEEN ONE CORMORANT EAT SIX TROUT IN LESS THAN FIFTEEN MINUTES.SOME FISH UP TO TWO POUNDS.THEY SWALLOW THEM HEAD FIRST.THIS IS COSTING THE MEMBERS A LOT OF MONEY.WE PAY FOR THESE FISH. THANK YOU."
280. Jorge Macias
281. Ed Koga "I've been fishing california lakes and streams for over 40 years and have always been thoughtful of nature. Pack in and pack out your trash: Catch and Release: Respect Nature: Pay my taxes and all license fees. Have you ever seen a Cormorant Do any of these. If the environmentalist wacko's want to buy trout to feed these birds they should pay from their own pockets. Not from the pockets of the sportsman who are trying to teach family values and life to their families. They are also causing higher water bacterial levels due to their overpopulation of this migratory protected bird. These birds no longer migrate because they are protected and fed. What ever happened to Please Don't Feed the Bears. The same should go for these under achievers of nature."
282. Michael Monti
283. DAN PHILABAUM "I am amazed to see your site ! I'am in a place called Snohomish, Washington. I live on a small lake named Lake Roesiger. I thought cormorants were just a western Washington problem. It seems to be a west coast problem. Each winter for the past 15 years we have watched the birds eat our fish shortly after they are stoked in Feb. I have counted as many as 30 on a floating ski dock. They are here in massive numbers until spring. If they can eat as big as a one pound fish, it is no wonder our fishing is so poor. The bird are everywhere and eating our salmon (those endangered species). The envirormentalists want these birds here. They know they will never defeat these fish that have come back in record but they will depleat the numbers enough to keep our chinook salmon on the endangered list. Good luck in your quest but make sure you get at least the president there to celebrate your petition or we will never here about it in Washington. We could us your help. Happy Fishing !"
284. Burbago "If you want a demonstration of the filthy birds feeding on freshly planted trout check out the Castaic Lake afterbay shortly after a trout plant.....Discusting! "
285. TONY RICHARD "YES I FIND THE PROBLEM WITH THE CORMORANT TO BE A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. I FISH REGULARLY FOR TROUT IN SAN BERNARDINO LAKES AS WELL AS OTHERS AND THESE BIRDS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT AND AT TIMES EFFECTED MY FISHING.  I WOULD DEFENITLY SIGN YOUR PETITION. THANK YOU FOR TAKING INITIATIVE IN THIS CASE "
286. Dwane Castle
287. Juan J. Simon "I do agree the cormorant problem is bad.  I went fishing to irvine lake and these birds were eating all the trout, I even caught one trout that had been wounded by a cormoran.  I also witnessed these birds eating the catfish and trout and others fishes at Alondra park.  These birds are there diving all the time and then they leave when there is no more fish.  Why I am going to pay a license when the only thing I do is feed these ugly birds.  Between the anglers who do not abide with the daily cuaota and these birds there is no fish for anybody else.  If it was for me they could eliminate all these birds to a few hundres or tens."
288. Ross Quam "I moved here from South Dakota where the trout fishing is great.  Now I know why I haven't caught any trout here in California.  These birds have to go."
289. Sylvia Beck "This is a very big problem In San Bernardino Calif. While Fishing at seccombe lake It seems the birds catch more Fish then we anglers do. we sit for hrs at the lake hoping to get a catch while we watch the birds swoop down and swollow fish all day."
290. Victor J. Gomez "Cormorant have been a pain for the last 15 yrs every time. I have watched these birds eat up so many trout, they just wait for the trucks to dump the trout and they go into an eating frenzy. I'm tired of seeing all these trout to go to waste."
291. Anne Thompson "Everytime they stock the Rancho/Jurupa fishing lake the birds swarm and eat all the trout. It is discouraging to licenced fishermen because they are not even getting a bite. Most fishermen will only go there on the day that the lake is stocked because very few stocked fish survive the rampage of the birds."
292. Bruce Cathcart "I strongly support any and all measures taken to limit the population of Cormorants in California and Arizona. I suggest that hunters be allowed to take Cormorants during waterfowl season with a limit of 25 (same as coots)."
293. Evglaze "Fishing in Southern California Waters is for the pitts, and I believe that this bird has a lot to do with fishing at Wohlford Lake in Escondido. I am so disgusted with California Fishing and the rates that we pay to fish that I am about ready to give up the sport. Of the three states that I have fished in it is the pitts in general, and now the bird. I am with you 300%. I will participate in the petition."
294. Bert Inoue
295. Marty Hairabedian "I agree. Comorants are destroying Canyon Lake, Ca. My grandchildren used to catch blue gills but I haven't seen one in about two years. These birds are smart and they fish in "packs" and seem to round up the fish like a sheep dog and eat all the fish. They are a protected pest! We've had comorants for a long time but only a few dozen. Now we have hundreds plus! We even have a few pelicans mixed in with them. Our government should put people before these pests! Canyon lake has some very expensive houses and the property values and the lake is being destroyed by the pesky comorants. If people destroyed property like these birds are, those people would be imprisoned!! Keep up the pressure. Let all the politicians know about the problem."
296. Fred Black "I couldn't agree more with you about the Cormorants having an adverse effect on all fresh water sport fisheries. I am a bass fisherman, and have caught many bass that have large wounds on them. I am firmly convinced these are Cormorant strikes. Anything I can do to aid in getting this noxious bird under control, please let me know."
297. Russ Burton "I got your article from a freind a sdfish.com. Fish and game doesn't seem to mind these birds, what can I do about this. Their number's have EXPLODED, today I counted and videotaped well over 2 hundred cormorant's at Lake Jenning's, It's way outta hand. I wished I videotaped these bird's eating live trout right in front of me. These bird's have swarmed to the clear water trout lakes by the dozen's. Please let me know how I can help."
298. Jim Adamek "About two dozen cormorants perch nightly in large eucalyptus trees above the lake at Teewinkle Park in Costa Mesa, bombarding the water with explosive droppings. The water quality has suffered. And what was a healthy (and largely secret) bass population seems to be dwindling. I haven't seen the cormorants scoop up any bass to eat, but who knows. Anyway, the cormorants are filthy. I wouldn't mind seeing them evicted in any way that works."
299. Stephen Roldan "As a kid, I used to fish Lopez, Laguna and Atascadero Lakes for trout. Fishing would be great until those birds showed up.....which for some strange reason was when trout season started. Then in May, most of them disappeared until the trout trucks drove up again the next fall. We would throw rocks at them, scream, yell, but to no avail. Those birds would come up everytime with a nice trout in their bill. Worse yet, the bird lovers would come and chastise us saying they have every right to eat as many trout as they want to. Even though we explained that it was the bird lovers tax money going down the drain, they would say something like, "it's fine with me, I don't fish." The cormorants are a great example of bleeding animal lover hearts pouring their "opinions" into an issue they have no clue about. Please, let's do something about it.......saying the cormorant is an endangered bird is like saying Bill Clinton is a man of honesty and integrity."
300. S.Lopez - "Those cormorants are a real promlem to are trout and bass populations."
301. JD - "Yes! I agree completely; I think the Cormorant problem is totally out of control. For the sake of one species, we are sacrificing an entire industry. "
302. Roque Martinez - "It is Imperative that the study be started Now!, because as a local fisherman who at times takes at risk youth fishing,these locally stocked lakes can make the difference between a youth catching a fish and getting started on possibly a lifelong hobby, or getting discouraged and turn to a life of crime and mischief......"
303. Steve Ballew "I've seen the cormorants in action. They seem to be able to eat their weight in fish in a couple of hours. When they come by, the fish stop biting. There are way too many of them. Something should be done to curb their population"
304. Dave Shenkman "Don't know if this is still a topic, but at Greer Park Lake, I witnessed one Comerant consume 5 trout in about 30 minutes. Now, there are more than 25 birds just sitting on the shore. There is only 100 pounds that get stocked in this lake. Within 3 - 4 days, there are no fish to be caught. It is stocked only once a month. So much for fishing with my daughter here. This is a terrible problem."
305. Jaime Zachea - "Jeff, this problem isn't just in southern California.I live in Las Vegas in a 3000 home master planned community with four small man made lakes.The last three years these birds have migrated here in the fall and have been devastating this small fishery. Nine feet deep and no cover in these lakes makes them an easy target for these birds. I am the former president of the association here and help to coordinate the fish stocking when I can get the funding out of the yearly budget. Not so easy, unfortunately and things are obviously getting worse. I was attracted to the commorant story because I am trying to find out what to do about this problem. From what I understand these birds are on the endangered species list or are federally protected or both! Doesn't leave a lot of options, short of getting out in a boat everyday and harassing them to leave. Who has the autonomy to do that?, let alone will that work? I have heard something about high frequency sound waves being able to get a response out of them, but I am still checking into this.I fully support this petition even though I live in Nevada. I get to fish in northern California every year and they have them up there too. If you find out anything I would certainly appreciate the information. Good luck!"
306. Larry D Helton - "I feel the same way about the cormorants. Something has to be done with them. While fishing at TRYCITY Lake,I expressed my feeling about the cormorants to a fish and game officer. He said quote "They were here before you". This is not what I wanted to hear."
307. Bill Jirava
308. Brandon Ward - "heres my signature..."
309. jvenaglia - " I have seen the increase in popuation of these birds. "
310. Tim McQueen - "Add me to the list."
311. John Burton
312. Paige Burton
313. Blake Leathers - "This cormorant problem must be addressed immediately!!! What kind of morons are working for our wildlife agencies if they can't see the direct impact that the cormorant has on the local fish populations in the lakes of southern cal. Why continue to exacerbate the problem by continuing the planting of fish when they will obviously be eaten in VERY short time...this #&*%#@!!%$& nonsense has to stop...Thank you JEFF, please use my name for your petition....stay cool and tight lines.."
314. Jacob - "Those birds should all be killed and wiped out of the whole southern california area. They eat all the trout that we try to catch and the trout that support our striper and largemouth bass fishing."
315. garrett howard - "i totally agree with u on this. i always fish castaic lake and those stupid birds always eat the trout that i want to catch but more importantly what the big stripers and big bass eat. I hope we can do something about this problem. it is a real problem at castaic especially on the lower lake. "
316. ED LUND
317. JULIE LUND
318. Terri Reynolds - "Does anyone have a recipe for fried Cormorant? If the Cormorant's diet is fresh fish they would probably be tasty birds on my camp stove. They have taken all of the fish out of the local canal I have fished for 20 years. There are only a couple of fishing spots in the desert and the Cormorants population is way beyond out of control. This week end I was at Lake Cahuilla and despite the trout plant no one was catching fish on usually a very productive lake. The fish that have not been eaten are scared and holding tight. The ranger chases them off with a jet sky a couple of times a day but as soon as he returns to the shore they are back. "
319. Thomas Ryan - "As usuall I made my rounds today to find a good Fishing Spot. I started out at Eisenhower in Orange, pretty much fished out only a week after planting. The Fishing has been real light also because of the rains. The Problem? Cormorants. I counted 31 today. Greer Lake had 17, Tri City had 26. The day after the Plant at Eisenhower, I went Fishing. I had witnessed so many Fish being eaten by Cormorants that I decided to take a count. Between 1PM and 6PM (whenI left) I had watched 165 Trout get eaten. 7 Anglers only accounted for 27 trout during the same hours One guy left because he was so mad that one of these vicious Birds had taken a trout right off his line. I witnessed this. It almoast happened to me and I watched it happen to 3 other people. They were very mad, but didnt leave. I for one will not be renewing my License or doing any Fishing in the State of California in 2003. I will be Fishing out of state. I can not justify spending 30+ dollars to feed these ugly Birds that don't even belong here. "
320. Jeff C - "As the 300th person to jion this petition, something needs to be done! These ugly birds are filling up on our trout. Thats my 2 cents...."
321. Clyde and Gloria Clark - "Me and my wife are with you 100% on this problem. It used to be rare to see the birds actually eating fish, however. now it is rare that we don't see 5 to 10 fish eaten per day. Something needs to be done."
322. Jared - " Hi Jeff, I'm Jared and have seen a cormorant problem all over so. cal., the biggest of which I believe is in Canyon Lake which borders the south east side of Lake Elsinore. I don't live in Canyon Lake but I've fished there alot, or should I say, the last year or so tried to fish there. The last year or two fishing has been tough and everyone I talk to, that's knowledgible says that the cormorant problem is way out of hand now. These are guys that live in Canyon Lake, with bass boats, and know what they're talking about when they say they aren't seeing shad on their sonars, they don't know where the bass have gone, they've all caught bass with spear holes in their body's from cormorants and lived there many years but never seen anything like this. However, the cormorant population is beyond huge and they're fat and thriving, what does that tell you! Yes at the very least, I think there is huge cormorant problem all over so. cal. and it's getting bigger and bigger. Why, because dfg and the people in the government don't know how to act now that they have protected this ravenous preditor that is now out of control and decimating our fisheries? Do what you can brother, I'm with you."
323. Matthew Steward - "I have the same complaint as everyone else…..down with the cormorants!"
324. John Russell "The number that these birds have reached is not even found in natural habitats. I suggest that we make sport of it and get out our pellet guns, biggest kill wins"
325. Paul Gemeinhardt "The Cormorant is a big problem in the local southern California trout Lakes. If it's not them eating more than their fair share of trout, it's the amount of trout they injure in the attempt. I have caught many big and beautiful trout with bill marks and a big hole in their flank. The most damage is caused by the hook at the end of the Cormorants beak. I have even seen these marks on trout much too large for the birds to have eaten, but they tried. I wouldn't have such a problem if they were eating wild trout, but these were put in the lake by man, for man. If we stopped stocking these lakes the birds will either die off or move back to the ocean, where they came from. I definitely don't condemn eradicating these birds, but something should be done to slow their infestation of the local smaller city lakes."
326. Brent Wingett
327. Gary Henninger "I would like to sign up to get read of some of this Cormorant"
328. Mike Hunsche "I agree. These birds are out of control. Something needs to be done."
329. Corey Anderson "I never took notice of these birds until this year, at one small park lake I fish the population has increased to a huge flock of them numbering at least 60. At another, even smaller local lake that is stocked weekly with trout in the winter, the population of these birds consumes all but a few of the trout in the first day, leaving little for anglers. I have also noticed the bluegill population at this lake dwindling in the last year and believe it is because of the birds."
330. Ernie Johnson
331. Jerry Giberti "It doesn't take much to see that these birds are wiping out our local fisheries. Not only the planted trout but also the bass, bluegill, carp, shad, and crappie. I've caught some large bass with with beek marks on their backs. I have whitnessed them continuelly pecking away at large bass and catfish until the fish is too week to run and then they drag the fish to shore and the birds have rip the fish apart. If there's nothing done about this the our local fisheries will go to hell and the it will end up costing the state a fortune to rebuild them. which would be a continous never ending process until thees birds are eliminated. The situation is alread at the point where it's out of control. Please put me on the list. "
332. Aaron Calsadillas
333. Harry Boeker "I was fishing in San Diego Bay (between buoys 18 & 20) on Tuesday, Jan 21 2003 and saw more of these birds than I thought existed in So. California. We saw formation after formation coming from the Point Loma direction at 15 to 30 feet above the water. Each formation had between 20 and approx. 100 birds and we saw at LEAST 40 formations. The entire "migration" or what ever the event was lasted approx. 15 min. Don't know where the hell they came from or where the hell they were going, but it sure would take a lot of fish to feed them."
334. Tina White
335. Danny Kirkey
336. raymond brackin
337. Dan S
338. robert williams "this problem also affects england can you give advice to us the british anglers.I HAVE SEEN COMORANTS EAT BREAM AND ROACH"
339. Ron Kasser "I agree with you on the problem."
340. Michael Ramos "The population has become so bad here in So. Cal. that I even see them on lakes at golf courses all over So. Cal. Not only do they eat up a ton of trout, they're are starting eat up all kinds of fish everywhere! If you have a pond in your backyard with some fish you might want to go and check it."
341. James Lee Burgener "It's a travesty, and it's happening at a lake near you !!!!!!!"
342. LAURA MAESE "my friends and I have stopped fishing a number of lakes that the cormorants have nested,primarily the regional lakes in san bernardino county. we have seen a number of birds catch and eat a large number of trout on any given day. their presence also disrupts the chances of catching fish. it is just not worth paying the fee to park and fish when the birds are catching and eating the trout. there has to be a solution ,I hope the fish and wildlife crew can address this problem asap."
343. DeRocili, Jr., Roland "I completely agree with the petition and support it fully. This issue needs to be addressed or freshwater trout fishing in So. California may someday end as we know it, as a result of the continued Cormorant population growth."
344. WES HALVORSON "Yes, please put me on the list of _______-off anglers. I willnever fish Corona Lake again for the problems with the cormorant population. I pay good money to fish, and when i see the birds catching all the fish, well you know how i feel. "
345. Richard M.Manning
346. Hung "i too have seen these birds surface and devoured an entire trout with one gulp. on a recent visit to Pudding Stone (Boneli) lake in San Demos next to Raging Waters i saw what must have been 50 of these birds resting/ sun bathing on a floating platform, not to mention all the ones i saw in the lake surfacing here and there. You are right and this is a real problem that must be addressed for we pay the $30.70 to fish not for bird food! thank you for being the first and the one with the knowledge to take action."
347. Jeff Hensley " LAKE GREGORY RESIDENT WHO FISHES THERE REGULARLY.THE CORMORANT ARE EATING THE TROUT IN VAST NUMBERS PLEASE HELP......."
348. Steve Whittaker "I fish out of channel islands harbor and there are hundreds of these water rats inside the harbor. There are also at least one hundred seals. "
349. GEO "CORMORANT POPULATION SHOULD BE REDUCED. SOME LAKES ALLOW NO FISHING ON DAY OF STOCKING, ALLOWING THE BIRDS TO GREATLY REDUCE THE NUMBER OF FISH STOCKED BEFORE FISHING IS ALLOWED"
350. Jose Portillo " agree that these birds are getting out of control !!!!!! I really do pay big bucks to get into these lakes !!!! THE ONLY FISH I SEE BEING PULLED OUT ARE BY THOSE BIRDS !!!!!!!!! PLEASE PUT MY NAME ON THE LIST !!!!!!!!! "
351. DON SALISBURY
352. Robert Liu "I haven't return to the lake at west of Pick Road in El-Monte area for fishing many years since hundreds and thousand cormorants appeared around the lake. I can't catch any fish over there any more, and I believe it is related to the black birds. I agree with you that the DFG should do some thing about it. "
353. JOSGUA GARCIA "Yo! I've been reading this problem about this bird and it's so damn true. I went fishing to a local lake that had been stocked the day before and you could literally see about 10 of these birds going down and swooping these large trout. It sucked when the bites are slow and you see this shitty looking bird come up out of the water, in front of your face, gulping down a trout when i have powerbait on the line. Seriuosly this is some good sh*t. Keep it up...then add me aite. bye"
354. Chris Lord "I agree, I fish Mojave Narrows up here in the High Desert and the birds are a real problem. It really is bad when your fishing dollars go to feeding birds! If they managed this problem like they try to regulate us, it would help alot. "
355. Jim Hoffman "Absolutely. I have fished Yucaipa Lakes and Lake Cahuilla for many years, but not any more. Why bother, when as soon as the fish are put in the water, the lake is covered with feathered eating-machines. These birds are NOT living a natural life. Predation and limited food supplies normally limit the population, but now all these damn birds do is eat and breed, eat and breed, eat and breed. I can go to a lake the day after a huge stock, and all I find is fat, satieted cormorants. No fish, just cormorants."
356. Robert Fredzess "I also believe we have major Cormorant problem, not only on lakes as well in our oceans too!"
357. darnell hankins "add me to the petition. i am a licensed fishermen and i think it is stupid that you have to pay $30 for the license and dfg does not use the money to protect the fisheries. i fish at alondra park and you have to fish the day that dfg stocks in order to catch anything. the last time i went i saw a catfish that was about three pounds swim right in front of me that was all beat up. the cormorant needs to be taken care of. the exploding plastic trout idea sounds good."
358. Clark P "I didn't know the problem is that big. I grew up in Southern Cal and had experienced these cormorant problems. I have since moved to the SF area and fished local lakes for about three years now. Same picture up here. San Pablo Dam Reservoir house a good number of these cormorants too. Everyday you can see the flock diving and swimming after the trout schools. They don't leave either. After filling up, the camp out in the local pines. Go for it Jeff! You have my support."
359. Ruben Reveles Jr.
360. Roger "I fished Corona lake 5-11-03 too many birds not enough fish I caught nothing all day probably because of the birds."
361. Patrick Fishel
362. Brett Ballou "My name is Brett Ballou and I live in H.B, ca....Cormorants are a huge problem everywhere I fish....From Laguna Niguel Park to Lake Casitas....The birds are definitely taking over and first they eat all the planted (taxed payed for) Trout which is not cool, they also eat the Largemouth bass that have came into spawn....I've seen them many times just stick their beek in to a fish to kill it and then they dont even eat it....It's fun to them and it bums me out..they kill the fish, they scare the fish and they eat the fish.....I dont want to kill the birds but we need to get rid of them....The birds are screwing up the environment...."
363. Eron Armour
364. Kevin Riggs
365. Wm Mors "I am very much in favor of controlling the comorrant problem in California"
366. Archie Kerkhoff
367. Charles E. Scott II "I agree with you that this is a growing problem. I too have seen this population of bird growing and becoming a nuisance to us anglers. I am always seeing theses birds gorging themselves on the trout and injuring fish that are to large even for it to eat. You have my support. We need to put some time of control on these birds. I can see, if nothing is done, anglers taking matters into their own hands. This is a point that we do not want to get to. So hopefully we will get enough people and attention for something to get done."
368. Kevin Bellamy
369. Andrew Beebe
370. Kevin Krejci "I just wanted to say that these bird are becoming a nousance whenever you catch a fish they will come and take it right off your line. Making people not want to come back to some of their favirote fishing holes."
371. Deren Gharibi "These birds are definitely a problem."
372. Sheri A. Fernandes "I agree! My family and I have had boats for rental and a bait and tackle shop on Lake Jennings since the early 60's. Not only do they eat up to "5" fish (trout) per bird they make a mess on our boats. Try cleaning it. Also , any tree that they leave their mark on in time kills the tree. Here in Calif. the are called an endangered species. The only thing endangered is the Trout and Trees.. I read awhile back that in Texas they let people hunt them down, cause there are so many. I would like to shoot " 5 " Loones (cormorant) for every "1" Trout. "
373. Kevin Luong "Count me in, My name is Kevin Luong im 15 I fish at Greer Park Lake and Santa Ana River Lakes...These comorants eat up EVERYTHING. Especially at Greer because all the trout are still babies.....i hope DFG can do something about this. People are getting more violent toward these birds"
374. matt thomas
375. Dave Bloodman "birds catch more fish than me!"
376. Brandon Daniels "Please enter my name on your petition concerning the Cormorant Problem pertaining to Fisheries. Keep up the good fight! "
377. Archie Kerkhoff "Put me on the list, I'll support whatever measures can be taken to control these pests. I'm not against birds, but I am against anything that is disrupting our already shrinking trout plants and limited number of fishing waters in Southern California. Thanks for getting this started."
378. Daniel Chagolla "I fish at least two times per week. On numerous trips I have witnessed the comorant problem in the San Bernardino County lakes, as well as Riverside. I was at Jurupra lake in Riverside yesterday and I spoke to an employee at the lake about the problem, this person told me that they definitely had a huge problem, an they are worried because they are getting fewer anglers due to this severe issue. I hope this problem is dealt with immediately, because I am sick and tired of watching these birds eat half of the fish stocked!!! "
379. Eric Klein "good luck, it is a problem that needs to be addressed!!!!!!"
380. Jesus Mendoza "I have ran into these birds several times. Most damaging though was at El Dorado Park in Long Beach. I went there on December 30, 2003 and I kid you not there was over 50-60 of these birds. Mind you this lake is only about 10 acres at the most. There was no fish in site and these birds were everywhere in the lake. I am sure they just wiped out the fish because since then I have gone back and can’t see or catch a fish anywhere. The birds continue to occupy the lake and pretty much wipe out the fish population if actions are not taken."
381. George "I have seen the trees black with birds this year and last at santa fe dam. I stopped fishing for trout there because its just terrible. It seems as the trout season goes on the birds just grow and grow in numbers until that place looks like the movie "the birds". I have found bass at peck road park that have the tell tale beak mark on there back. These fish are too large for them to eat but they kill them anyway. Our local lakes need help!"
382. Paul C "They are a major problem here in Canyon Lake, CA. Not only to fishermen and others who live by the lake but also to the whole community of over 13,000 people. What happens is that we try to control the cormorant population buy blasting and that scares the hell out of all the dogs. Additionally, anyone who works nights and has to sleep during the day is awakened by the explosions. Last year we tried a program that sounded good. A guy who has a trained falcon was hired to let the bird "patrol" around every day hoping that the cormorants would go away. It sort of worked but the lake is too big for one bird and I heard it was pretty expensive. If more than one falcon could do the job and take care of the problem, I'd think the community would go for it."
383. Doug Lusk " I can’t stand to watch these ugly birds swoop down from the sky as I set up my gear and swallow entire stocked trout. I moved from southern Ca where this was a common event every time I went fishing, the location really did not matter. I moved to Northern CA and problem here is getting bad as well. I have witnessed these birds eat young steelhead right out the Nimbus dam hatchery on the American river in Sacramento."
384. nick nguyen (trout_guy) "im deffinatly with this pettition. these birds wipe out too many fish. a good example is carr park lake, on hiel and springdale. the money we pay for our license are being eaten up by these pesky birds we have to do something about it. the stocking of trout at carr has become an expensive feeding program then a fishery enhancement. there are too many times were ive seen these birds wipe out populations of trout, sunfish, and bass. the dfg is worried about northern pike taking out the trout population at lake davis, but i find that these birds are a much bigger threat due to their ability to move from lake to lake. private lake owners buy fish to stay in buisness and these birds get rid of a large percentage of their stocks. the owners should have a right to remove them from the facility. something NEEDS to be done."
385. Sandi Uva "Dear Fishermen, Tonight my husband asked me to check out the fishing at a couple of our local lakes. He promised our son a fishing trip this weekend. And I came upon your request to stop the Cormorant. Although, I myself have never placed a pole in the water, my husband has always fished. Both salt and fresh water. My father and brothers are avid outdoors men also. So I have been around this wonderful past time all my life. What I can not believe is that the posted emails date back to 1997 (you should really date stamp them when posted) and still nothing has been done to stop this. Sure there is the acknowledgment of the problem from the Fish & Game Dept., but they say their hands are tied. They need more studies, etc. etc. blah blah blah. Maybe their hands would be set free if the fishermen did not buy the required licenses. Because without the money from the licenses there would be a HUGE deficit in their funding. Perhaps another way would be for the owners of the private lakes to file a class action law suit against the Dept. of Fish & Game due to loss of inventory by an act of God. These private owners stock their lakes to make a profit. The Government has grants for other industries to help them when nature destroys their inventory. That's what the agriculture/farmers did with the Med Fly. We all know the only way change happens is when it affects the pocketbook. We need to get this problem out in the open, so the average person knows there is a problem. I had no idea that the funny looking birds I see everyday along the 91 freeway were becoming the rats in the air. I asked several people if they even knew what kind of birds they were and no one knew. You could use the ruse of the damage these birds do to the lives of the fish (tearing up there fins, scarring the gills, herding them for slaughter, etc) for the environmentalist's and other bleeding heart activists. Maybe we can even blame them for the loss of the migration of other birds to the Salton Sea. In closing I want you to include me in the fight to reduce and or eliminate these pests. Good luck."
386. Brad Duffy "Add my name to your list. Is it illegal to shoot a Cormorant."
387. John Hendricks "im really glad somebody else has noticed this problem.as i am primarily a saltwater guy i didnt realize they had invaded the lakes in such numbers. my problems with them has been stealing chum and flylined baits. also they will also swim down and devore halibut offerings in 20-35 ft of water.some days i have move locations because they get so aggressive.being a sciff owner live bait is essential to productive fishing, and thieveing cormrant populations are difinately out of control. "
388. Larry Parry "Dear Jeff~ I fish in the St. Lawrence River Basin in New York (Lake Ontario) and the cormorant population has become out of control here in less than ten years. The numbers of these birds have grown at an incredible rate. The waters which were at one time full of fish have now dwindled to far too few. The fishing has become very poor. We need to take action before it is too late."

Other States and Agencies involved with controlling the Double Crested Cormorant population:

• USFWS "Final" Ruling - Nov. 2003
• USFWS News Release - Nov. 1999
• USFWS seeking public input on cormorant control
• An article by Hector Becerra, LA Times
• A letter from Doug Elliot (Santa Ana River Lakes / Corona Lake) to Kevin Lansford, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• A letter from Mike Haynie, "Senior Hatchery Supervisor" Eastern Sierra and Inland Deserts. Posted with permission.
• A letter from Terry Young, opposing our petition.
• Lake Ontario - N.Y. Lakes