Cormorant Resources
Deep Dive Q & A
Radio
CBC’s Ideas with Nahlah Ayed recently aired an episode called 13 Ways of Looking at the Cormorant, which examines current and historical cultural assumptions around cormorants, and presents alternate ways of looking at the birds.
Papers / Articles
Ontario’s decision for the province-wide cull of Double-crested cormorants (2021) Keith A Hobson, Avian Conservation and Ecology, 16 (1): 24. http://www.ace-eco.org/vol16/iss1/art24/
Confluence of factors come to play in death of trees (2021) Kristyne E Demske, C & G Newspapers, https://www.candgnews.com/news/confluence-of-factors-come-to-play-in-death-of-trees-120777
A fisheries take on the fishy decision to implement a Double-crested Cormorant cull in Ontario (2021) Steven J Cooke, Avian Conservation and Ecology, 16 (2): 16. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02017-160216
‘A bird that can’t speak back’: The Ford government’s mass killing of the double-crested cormorant reveals it’s true stripes (2021) The Pointer https://thepointer.com/article/2021-10-16/a-bird-that-can-t-speak-back-the-ford-government-s-mass-killing-of-the-double-crested-cormorant-reveals-its-true-stripes
Can cormorants help control Great Lakes invaders? (2016) Eric Freedman, Great Lakes Echo. http://greatlakesecho.org/2016/06/06/can-cormorants-help-control-great-lakes-invaders/
Migratory bird protection, a crack in the armor: the case of the Double-crested Cormorant (2015), Linda Wires, Avian Conservation and Ecology, 10 (1): 8. https://www.ace-eco.org/vol10/iss1/art8/
The rise of the Double-crested cormorant on the Great Lakes: Winning the war against contaminants (1995), Environment Canada, https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/En40-222-2-1995E.pdf
Anecdotes and shifting baseline syndrome of fisheries (1995), Daniel Pauly, TREE vol. 10, No. 10 October. Why depleted wildlife populations seem normal.
Books
Accidental Wilderness, The Origins and Ecology of Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park (2020), Walter H. Kehm. A look at the history and ecology of Tommy Thompson Park, including Canada’s largest cormorant colony.
Vanishing Fish, Shifting Baselines and the Future of Global Fisheries (2019), Daniel Pauly. A look at state of today’s global fisheries, including the phenomenon of “shifting baselines” and how important knowledge about the state of the natural world has been lost.
The Subjugation of Canadian Wildlife, Failures of Principle and Policy (2018), Max Foran. A detailed look at culturally ingrained beliefs that underpin wildlife management practices and policies.
The Double-Crested Cormorant: Plight of a Feathered Pariah (2013), Linda R. Wires. An absolute “must read” book for anyone interested in cormorant issues.
The Double-Crested Cormorant: Symbol of Ecological Conflict (2012), Dennis Wild. A comprehensive review of cormorant issues across North America.
Dispelling the Myths: Cormorants in the Great Lakes Basin
A mini-documentary looking at Double-crested cormorants in the Great Lakes Basin and the issues and challenges they face (26 minutes)
Don’t Kill a Conservation Success Story - Cormorants in the Great Lakes
An animated short (45 seconds) about the Ontario cormorant hunting season.
Bad Reputations: Cormorants and Conservation
March 2021 webinar with avian scientist Dr. Gail Fraser about cormorant issues and why the Ontario cormorant hunt isn't a good idea (42 minutes).
Shoreline Socialites, Why the Fuss About Cormorants?
This 10 minute video introduces cormorants, their biology, range, and the issues facing them today. It highlights their very social behaviours and deep bonds with their young.
American White Pelicans & Cormorants
A Rick Andrews film that shows the cohabitation of American White Pelicans - now in the Great Lakes region - with cormorants (10 minutes).
Forgetting Nature
“You need a lot of awareness of what your experience is of the world, to feel if some of that is being taken away".” This 5 minute video explores the phenomenon of shifting baseline syndrome in an era of rapid change.