Peace and tranquility on a frosty morning near Churchill Gardens, Salisbury, as a lone angler casts his line. Staff picture by LARA BALL. DA4465P1.THEY are probably the only bird anglers detest. When fish stocks in the sea were higher than they are now cormorants seldom came inland to feed as they had no need to travel distances. But, in recent years the decline of sea fish stocks has forced cormorants inland and they are decimating freshwater fish stocks throughout the UK.

Cormorants are an outstanding success story. In the 1970s they were placed on the protected species list. Now the winter population in the UK is more than 23,000.

They feed solely on fish including endangered species such as salmon, bullheads, lampreys and eels.

On rivers and lakes they can reduce young fish stocks to almost nothing.

Cormorant flocks congregate at river bottlenecks during salmon and smolt migrations and they can annihilate whole runs of fish.

But, now concern about the effect of cormorants on freshwater fish stocks has reached Whitehall and Ben Bradshaw, Minister for Nature Conservation and Fisheries, has called for a review of the measures that gave the cormorant protected status.

Delegates at the Third National Angling Summit, organised by Martin Salter MP and attended by the Salmon and Trout Association and representatives from other fisheries associations, heard that the Minister proposes that cormorants should now be managed at certain times of the year to protect our fisheries.

This review will include a look at the system granting licences to shoot cormorants.

Paul Knight, director of the Salmon and Trout Association, summed up the views held by many anglers, both trout and coarse.

He said there will always be those defending the cormorant's right to take fish unhindered, but the association's position is that there must be a managed balance between prey and predator.

Mr Knight said the association had always lobbied for increased flexibility for fisheries to be able to protect vulnerable stocks of fish from cormorants.

It goes without saying that the association - and probably every association, fishery owner and angling club - has expressed delight at the Minister's "proactive stance."

Involved in future debates will be the Moran Committee Joint Bird Group whose membership includes English Nature, the Environment Agency, the RSPB, Defra, the Institute of Fisheries Management and the Salmon and Trout Association.

Its aim is to develop constructive dialogue and co-operation between anglers, fishery interests and bird interests.

Hopefully during 2004 there will be decision on which is the best way forward so that anglers, bird lovers and everyone else involved can be happy with the outcome.