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Courtesy of NAA:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has released a final rule and final environmental impact statement (EIS) to responsibly manage conflicts associated with double-crested cormorants in the United States.

The final rule establishes a new special permit for state and federally recognized tribal wildlife agencies in the contiguous 48 United States to undertake additional cormorant control activities when permissible under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). States and tribes must use nonlethal methods before resorting to lethal control. The activities allowed under the special permit include controlling cormorants to help reduce conflicts with wild and publicly stocked fisheries within state or tribal-jurisdictions. States also will have additional flexibility to manage cormorants at state or tribal-owned hatcheries and release sites.

Under the rule, which becomes effective February 12, 2021, a new special permit for interested states and tribes will complement existing measures to address conflicts with cormorants to protect human health and safety, personal property and threatened and endangered species.

The FWS collaborated with state fish and wildlife agencies, tribes and other federal partners in further addressing cormorant conflicts including aquaculture and wild-stocked fisheries to assure that the agency understood the nature and magnitude of the problem. Double-crested cormorants are protected under the MBTA making any lethal control of these birds illegal without explicit FWS authorization.

Starting on page 85548, the FWS explains why they decided not to re-establish an aquaculture depredation order. The final rule can be read or downloaded here.