Cormorant Relief Act of 2025

The Cormorant Relief Act of 2025 would require the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to reissue the existing depredation order authorizing the taking (depredation) of double-crested cormorants at aquaculture facilities. The reissued order would be identical to the original depredation order, but it would apply in additional states and to additional entities. Specifically, within one year of enactment, the Secretary must extend the order so it also covers the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and it would apply to private lake managers and private pond managers in addition to the groups already covered by the original order. The bill relies on the existing framework from the original order (as of January 1, 2016) and preserves its structure while expanding geographic and stakeholder coverage. In short, the bill seeks to restore and broaden a regulatory tool that allows limited-taking of certain cormorants at aquaculture facilities to reduce economic losses from predation, by duplicating the original depredation order’s terms and extending them to more places and managers.