Double-crested cormorant predation on smallmouth bass and other fishes of the eastern basin of Lake Ontario: overview and summary

1 Cape Vincent Fisheries Station, Cape Vincent, NY 13618 2 Region 6 Fisheries Office, Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601 3 Dunkirk Fisheries Station, Dunkirk, NY 14048 4 College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 5 McMurdo Station, Project S-031, PSC 469, Box 800, APO AP 96599-5800 6 Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science, Cortland, NY 13045 7 Leetown Science Center, Wellsboro, PA 16901 This compilation of reports is the culmination of an intense field effort during 1998 by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) to evaluate the impact of double-crested cormorant predation on smallmouth bass and other fishes of the eastern basin of Lake Ontario. For the purpose of this evaluation, the eastern basin includes New York waters of Lake Ontario from 7 km south of Little Galloo Island to Cape Vincent (see coverpage map). This evaluation was precipitated by the concern of resource managers for the long-term health of the eastern basin fishery, and by a strongly held public perception that smallmouth bass fishing was poor and double-crested cormorant predation was excessive.