My initial article about cormorants, and their predation of our fish stocks, came out of frustration and anger, that the damage to our fisheries caused by these birds was being ignored by the powers that be, and that this and the facts about the birds themselves was being discretely with held from the angling community. What I have learned since then has not caused me to change my mind at all, far from it. In fact what I and friends have witnessed during the last month has lead me to believe that what is happening in South Yorkshire today is just the tip of the iceberg. It has already happened in other parts of the country, and will, in due course also happen further north and perhaps to a greater extent across the Pennines and in the west. This is not an idle threat, it is backed by comments from the Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust who estimate that within 5 to 10 years we will see 10,000 inland breeding cormorants across the country unless action is taken. In an earlier article I was critical of the lack of help angling clubs and riparian owners were receiving from both the Environment Agency and from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (MAFF). Latterly I showed that cormorant numbers had increased dramatically across Europe and Scandinavia since the introduction of legislation in the period 1979/1981, prohibiting their persecution. Furthermore I dispelled my own previously held belief that the problems with cormorants arose because birds wintered inland from the sea, when I discovered that there are in fact two species of cormorant in Europe, our own sea bird P. carbo carbo and a foreign freshwater bird P. carbo sinensis. My change of heart came when it became apparent that the numbers of this latter species had increased to hundreds of thousands in Europe and to such an extent that they were now becoming established in England too. What I was not aware of was the extent of their activity in England or ways in which they are becoming established. What I have found is frightening. My investigations into the role of the foreign interloper lead me to obtain a copy English Nature's report no.360, which is entitled 'Movements and distribution of inland breeding cormorants in England. My attention was drawn to it by the fact that someone was at last admitting that there were cormorants breeding inland, rather than blaming over wintering birds for our problems. ( For anyone who is interested, the report is available free of charge, from English Nature on 01733 455100/1/2. I would recommend everyone to get a copy.) Although somewhat detailed, the report itself is a mine of information. Having read it through however I was puzzled that there were no records after 1998, which seemed rather strange for a report which was published some two years later. Out of curiosity I rang the report's author who told me that he actually wrote the report three years ago. But my question remained, why if the report was written then, had it only just been published? Was this another part of the secrecy conspiracy? Did it contain information that some would prefer that anglers didn't know? You bet it did! I'll try to summarize the detail as follows: The report concludes that since first breeding inland at Abberton Reservoir, Essex, in 1981, (when shooting was outlawed by the Wildlife and Countryside Act) the numbers of cormorants breeding inland in the UK have increased at an average rate of 35% per year, to reach in 1998, approaching 3000 birds at 23 sites. ( More recent estimates suggest that there are now 50 sites and so today, the number of birds may have doubled) It goes further to say that the availability of suitable breeding sites suggests that the numbers of cormorants breeding inland will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. (To 10,000 in 5 to 10 years according to the author!). The report also quotes the results of ringing and DNA studies carried out on these birds which have proved conclusively that the birds are a mixture of the UK species (carbo) and their European counterparts (sinensis). Further studies have shown that the foreign species (sinensis) predominate, especially during initial colonization. Birds were ringed at four inland colonies, Abberton, Rutland (near the Nene), Paxton (near the Gt. Ouse) and Besthorpe. Yes that's right, Besthorpe on the Trent of all places, but more of that later. And their movements were monitored with startling results. The results showed that juvenile birds could, and did, travel on average over 100km (60 miles) from home, within two months of fledging! They were later seen at distances of 120 to150km away, where they remained for at least their first year. Adult and second year birds stayed nearer to their colony, and did not show the rapid post breeding dispersal of their juniors, with many returning to breed again between January and March. The extent to which the birds have successfully colonized other sites throughout the country since nesting in Essex in 1981 is shown in the map. I would suggest that it's very likely that in the three years since 1998 when this evidence was compiled, that the other sites that have been colonized have spread the birds even further afield. In brief this report clearly demonstrates that not only are birds nesting inland in increasing numbers , but that these birds are predominantly the foreign species rather than our own, and, that having bred successfully, the young quickly disperse looking for food and what is in effect a new home to start the exercise all over again. In short although your fisheries may not suffer the problem now, they will, for the worst is obviously yet to come. By now I was beginning to find the answers to questions that have troubled me from the outset, namely where our local birds had come from, and why for the first time ever we were being plagued by birds in the Don valley. In order to check the theory out, I went down to Besthorpe with a couple of friends, in search of the site where they were nesting. It didn't take much finding, you can hear the birds some way away. The report suggested that in 1998 there were 210 breeding pairs present, some 80% of which were foreigners. They are still there, perhaps more. It was an awesome sight, the birds were just beginning to rebuild and construct new nests for this year. At 65 nests we stopped counting. Now I have listened to all the theories about the demise of the Trent and am the first to admit that a number of factors played a part, but, if anyone at the Environment Agency ever again suggests that cormorants don't play a major role they ought to be sacked for negligence. These birds are literally within a quarter of a mile of the river in any of three directions. At 420 birds, they are eating anything up to 2 tonnes of fish each week, and this will increase as the young hatch, which, coincidentally will be about the same time as what fish remaining in the rivers and gravel pits try to spawn! No wonder Neville Fickling had problems with his fishery at Girton! On the way home I looked in at my local trout lake where 24 birds were just leaving to roost. I followed them as they returned to a local nature reserve, which strangely enough has all the characteristics of Besthorpe. The warden confirmed their presence, along with others, all year round. The picture was now complete, these birds and all the others we see in the area aren't from Whitby or Flamborough, more likely from Besthorpe, just 35 miles over the horizon and only a stones throw to a newly fledged cormorant. Another telephone call, this time to English Nature, confirmed the strong possibility, and warned that next year or the year after, that they will no doubt try to breed and establish another colony, this time in the Don valley. My heart sank. At the beginning of this exercise I had hoped to be able to see daylight at the end of the tunnel, to have established that the situation was under control, but as yet that end is a long way away. While I have discovered a great deal about cormorants, possibly much more than the average bird watcher, it has not been easy, and I am still convinced that a conspiracy of silence surrounds the issue. I have been disappointed by the inertness of the Environment Agency and by insensitivity of MAFF, who obviously care far more for the Agriculture and Food aspects of their departments than ever they do for the Fisheries. I have discovered that far from being under control the problem is expanding at a frightening rate which will pose a risk to every fishery in the country, and that despite pleas from experts as late as 1997 to have a European plan to, and I quote, 'Minimise the conflict between fisheries interests and the cormorant P.carbo sinesis (the foreigner)' our politicians have not seen fit to take the action we need. Unfortunately the much discussed method of control in angling circles of shooting them, either illegally or legally, is, as one distinguished ornithologist said, just a drop in the ocean, and will have little effect unless it is allowed on a national basis, as it now is in France where 10,000 birds have been shot. And so with that thought in mind it would seem that the only way forward is to give our leaders a little reminder of the problems we face and try to kick start them into action. Thankfully the Angling Star is giving us all the opportunity to do this by way of the petition below, which if successful will be presented to Government. From here on it is up to you the reader to help. I would ask you and all the anglers you know to collect some signatures, copy the form as many times as you wish, put them on the counter of your local tackle shop, give one to your local fishery, pub, garage, send some to the NFA, the EA, wherever, but get some signatures. Prove for once that anglers are a force to be reckoned with, by returning them to the Angling Star at the following address ..................