HBA-ATS H.C.R. 23 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.C.R. 23 By: Clark State Recreational Resources 2/25/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The double-crested cormorant (cormorant) is a large fish-eating waterbird. It is the most common and widespread species of cormorant in North America. The bird is commonly seen inland around bodies of freshwater where it can surface dive for fish. Cormorants nest in Alaska, Canada, the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Coast, and the Pacific Coast. Cormorants from Alaska, Canada, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic Coast migrate south in the winter to the Gulf of Mexico beginning in late August. They return the following April. Over the last three decades, the cormorant population has increased exponentially in response to two factors: declining levels of contaminants in its diet and increasing food supply due to changes in fish stocks. The cormorant has a reputation as a voracious eater. According to a State Soil and Water Conservation Board study, a cormorant has been observed consuming 23 five-inch catfish in an hour. This appetite has earned the bird several nicknames, including "water turkey," "sky rat," fire ant with wings," and "fish coyote." The bird's natural predation on fish has caused concern among commercial and sport fisheries, private lake owners, and individual anglers in eastern and southern Texas. Fish harvesters and anglers suspect the cormorant of reducing the numbers of commercially and recreationally valuable fish, including bass, catfish, shad, and bluegill, and believe that the cormorant threatens the economic well-being of sport fishing in Texas. It is estimated that over two million people annually fish in Texas streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes, spending almost $2 billion per year on fishing related goods and services, and that sports fishing sustains over 50,000 full time jobs. Despite the perceived threat to fish stocks, trapping or shooting the double-crested cormorant is currently illegal without both state and federal approval under migratory bird hunting regulations established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Permits to trap or shoot are issued on a case-by-case basis and usually only to fisheries. H.C.R. 23 petitions for the removal of the double-crested cormorant from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act if the economic losses warrant severe control of the bird's population within a geographic area. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS H.C.R. 23 petitions for the removal of the double-crested cormorant from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act if the economic losses warrant severe control of the bird's population within a geographic area. Requests the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to include the economic impact of the cormorant on sport fishing in its ongoing evaluation of the double-crested cormorant and to create a contingency plan for addressing site-specific cormorant problems in sport fishing areas. Provides that the Texas secretary of state forward an official copy of this resolution to the director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.