Cormorants to die for salmon

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps Engineers can continue killing double-crested cormorants that prey on Columbia River salmon and steelhead, a move that shows how complex the debate has become over how to best sustain imperiled fish species emblematic of the Pacific Northwest.

Following the ruling made public Thursday, the Audubon Society of Portland on Friday called the decision “deeply disappointing.”

Along with other groups, it contends that hydroelectric dams pose the greatest threat to the fish and says it is unnecessary to reduce the number of fish predators by shooting thousands of cormorants and spreading oil on thousands of nests to prevent cormorant eggs from hatching.

Federal agencies blame the birds for eating millions of juvenile salmon as they migrate down the Columbia toward the ocean.