Jouko Högmander, chairman of the Foundation’s working group on sea eagles, fears that there will be more applications for derogations in the future.
The drastic decline of the shark population on the island of Lågskär has prompted the Åland Provincial Government to resort to extreme measures. The government announced on Thursday that it would allow the protective hunting of up to five white-tailed eagles in the area.
The eider is a prey species for sea eagles. In recent years, the survival of the young in particular has been low, which has pushed the local bird community into an endangered status.
Hunting does not change the situation
– I fear that the provincial government will continue the project next year and issue more permits. This may prompt others to apply for similar derogations and deal with the problem with guns.
Högmander does not believe that shooting sea eagles will change the situation in the Lågskär area. The birds will continue to prey, but will become even more timid. He would look for a solution to curb the sea eagle population due to the change in winter feeding habits.
– The internal organs of caught roe deer should not be left on the ground, and garbage fish should not be left on the ice during winter fishing. If this were to be changed, the sea eagle population would settle down to a level lower than the natural way.
In Högmander’s opinion, the people of Åland do not care about the eider population only for nature conservation reasons.
– There are still hopes that the traditional spring hunting of egret could start again. That is not a sustainable way to approach this issue.