Salter Signs Off With a Blast at Cormorant and Otter Predation  

Labour’s angling spokesman Martin Salter, who is standing down at the General Election, has made a final call for better controls on numbers of otters and cormorants to ensure “a sustainable balance between predators and prey”. In a letter to Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies Mr Salter asked for a review of the current licensing agreements for cormorant controls so that “a higher number of birds can be shot”. On otters Mr Salter pointed out the devastating affect that increased numbers of otters were having on smaller rivers such as the Bristol Avon and the Windrush in Oxfordshire where barbel numbers have been hit hard. He wrote:- “I note that the European Habitats Directive which provides legal protection for the otter does contain a derogation through which a licence can be granted “for the purpose of preventing serious damage to fisheries”....