Report of the EIFAC working party on prevention and control of bird predation in aquaculture and fisheries operations
EIFAC TECHNICAL PAPER
51
| Report of the EIFAC working party on prevention and control of bird predation in aquaculture and fisheries operations |
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
M-44
ISBN 92-5-102752-8
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
ABSTRACT |
| With the appearance of the final Report, the Working Party has terminated its mandate, accepted at the Twelfth Session of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) (Budapest 1982). |
| As a result of this investigation it is apparent that in most regions damage caused by piscivorous birds in open waters is mainly of local interest and generally not considered to be of great economic importance. This opinion, however, is no longer shared by those countries which recently have been confronted with large numbers of migrating cormorants. Due to total protection, cormorant populations in Europe have multiplied and now cause increasing problems in open waters. |
| In trout culture, birds feeding on fish in ponds and raceways cause serious losses, damaged fish which escape capture may contribute to the spread of diseases and parasites. However the intensive, compact pond and raceway systems characteristic of the trout industry are more easily protected than the large, extensive ponds used for many warm-water species. |
| Among the different types of aquaculture the pond fish are most exposed to bird problems which are difficult to solve economically in view of the large areas involved. Since piscivorous birds in most countries are protected, their populations have increased considerably and in several regions have reached a level at which many pond farms are faced with heavy economic losses. Some pond farms have been totally ruined as a consequence of predation by cormorants and no longer exist. |
| It is to be hoped that this survey will contribute to a better understanding of the role of bird predation in aquaculture and fisheries operations. |
PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT
This report was prepared on the basis of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) Working Party on Bird Predation which was organized by Ir. C.M. Bungenberge de Jong in response to a recommendation of the Twelfth Session of EIFAC (Budapest, Hungary, 31 May to 5 June 1982). It is based on responses to a series of questionnaires circulated among interested institutions in EIFAC member countries. The publication contains the most up-to-date summary of the present impact of birds on culture and capture fisheries in Europe.
The valuable collaboration of the EIFAC National Correspondents, the Secretary of EIFAC and the members of the Working Party is gratefully acknowledged. I also want to express many thanks to all who have contributed with their kind collaboration in EIFAC activities.
| Distribution: | For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows |
| FAO Fisheries Department | European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission, 1988 Report of the EIFAC Working Party on prevention and control of bird predation in aquaculture and fisheries operations. EIFAC Tech.Pap., (51):79 p. |
| FAO Regional Fishery Officers | |
| EIFAC Mailing List | |
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, © FAO 1989
Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.
This electronic document has been scanned using optical character recognition (OCR) software. FAO declines all responsibility for any discrepancies that may exist between the present document and its original printed version.
I WORKING PARTY: ORIGIN, OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Working Party
4. Questionnaire
5. Literature Review
II REVIEW OF REPLIES OF QUESTIONNAIRE - PART A: POND FISH CULTURE
1. General Information
2. Bird Problems
3. Predation
4. Interference with Artificial Breeding
5. Diseases
6. Measures
7. Legal Position
8. Indemnification
9. Economical Impact
II REVIEW OF REPLIES OF QUESTIONNAIRE - PART B: TROUT CULTURE
1. General Information
2. Bird Problems
3. Protection Against Birds
4. Predation
5. Diseases
6. Legal Position
7. Research
8. Economical Impact
II REVIEW OF REPLIES OF QUESTIONNAIRE - PART C: OPEN WATERS
1. General Information
2. Bird Problems and Predation
3. Fish Diseases
4. Bird Predator Populations (Legal Position)
5. Measures
6. Research
7. Economical Impact
II REVIEW OF REPLIES OF QUESTIONNAIRE - PART D. FISH DISEASE PROBLEMS RELATED TO BIRDS
III LITERATURE REVIEW - PROBLEMS CAUSED BY BIRDS AT INLAND WATERS AND FRESHWATER FISH FARMS
1. Introduction
2. Birds and Freshwater Environments
3. Predation
4. Birds and Trophic Status
5. Birds and Disease
6. Control of Bird-related Problems
7. Acknowledgements
8. References