CORMORANTS are devastating the Island’s freshwater fish population and an application to cull the birds could be made if they cannot be stopped.

The problem has cost the Jersey Freshwater Angling Association thousands of pounds and is worsened by the fact that due to a change in EU regulations on aquatic animal health the JFAA cannot now replenish stocks like they used to by importing fish.

A JFAA spokesman said: ‘We will do all we can to put in preventative measures prior to sending an application in for a cull. But we’ve spent £25,000–£30,000 on fish in the last ten to 15 years and in one place we only have 30 fish in excess of 10 lb – everything else has been eaten.

‘We’ve also spent around £4,000 building fish refuges, approximately £600 trying to prevent birds from landing on the waters, and last year spent £4–5,000 on electronic bird scarers. There’s also the countless hours of members’ time putting things into place, so it’s not a case of “we’re losing some fish – let’s cull the birds”.

As little as ten birds on a lake can strip the place bare of a sustainable fish population within six months. Cormorants eat around 750 grams of fish a day, so for ten birds that’s 7.5 kilos, which is 75 kilos just to live for ten days. Also, if a cormorant can’t grab a fish, then it will spear it with its beak and the fish isn’t eaten but can’t survive.

Pictured: A cormorant with catch