Hunting of cormorants not allowed in Tommy Thompson Park, city tells hunters

City of Toronto puts hunters on notice on eve of controversial provincial hunt

Cbc.ca
Sept. 15, 2020

Hunting of double-crested cormorants is not permitted in Toronto and that includes Tommy Thompson Park where there are breeding colonies of the birds, the city said on the eve of a provincial hunt.

In a news release on Monday, the city put hunters on notice that they could be charged and fined if caught shooting at land while in a boat in the Toronto harbour.

"Cormorant hunting, like all hunting, is not permitted in Toronto under City of Toronto bylaws," the release said.

The release comes just a day before the beginning of a controversial province-wide hunt targeting cormorants. The province has said harvesting the birds is necessary because they deplete fish stocks and damage trees. But earlier this month, 51 scientists sent an open letter to the province arguing the hunt lacks a scientific basis.

The city said its bylaws prohibit the discharge of firearms and that includes "using a firearm while in a boat for the purposes of hunting." The release said possession or use of a weapon in a park or on a beach is also prohibited.

"The city's boundaries extend into Lake Ontario to the United States border and east and west to the borders of neighbouring municipalities," the city said.

That means the waters off Tommy Thompson Park are also off limits to hunting. Hunters who contravene city bylaws could be charged and could face fines up to a maximum of $5,000.

According to the release, most of the breeding cormorants in Toronto began their migration south in late August, but cormorants from other breeding colonies in Ontario are making their way through the city and some birds will remain through the late fall.

Cormorants are aquatic, fish-eating birds that came close to being endangered a century ago, although their populations have since rebounded. Tommy Thompson Park is said to have one of the largest cormorant populations in North America.

The Ontario ministry of natural resources and forestry announced the hunt on July 31, calling it a "fall harvest," and said it will allow a hunter with an outdoors card and small game licence to kill up to 15 birds a day from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31.

Hunters will be allowed to shoot the birds from stationary motorboats. They are required to retrieve the birds they kill and dispose of their bodies.

Toronto police, bylaw officers to monitor colonies
"City staff have been working closely with ministry staff and other stakeholders to ensure compliance with bylaws," the release said.

City staff and staff from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority have set up signs around the cormorant breeding colonies at Tommy Thompson Park to remind the public that hunting is not permitted anywhere in the area and hunters are to leave the birds alone.

"Bylaw enforcement officers will be monitoring areas where cormorants are known to nest," the city said.

The Toronto Police Marine Unit will monitor the area, with the help of the ministry, to ensure public safety, the city added.