The Agriculture Ministry, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the national Fish Breeders Association are collaborating for the second time this year to provide food for migrating pelicans passing through the country. The project will preserve the fish bred for profit from decimation by the pelicans, prevent illegal shooting of the birds, and provide a unique attraction for nature lovers.
By providing the birds with designated feeding stations, the breeders and government agencies hope to reduce the numbers of fish snatched from commercial fishponds along the pelicans' migratory path.
About 30,000 to 40,000 pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) pass through Israel in spring and autumn, stopping along the way to eat before continuing migration. The flight path of these large birds brought them to seek the easily accessible fish farmed by breeders in commercial fisheries in Israel, many of them in the Hula Valley region. This depletion of stock negatively impacted the farmers to the tune of two million shekels and caused prices to rise for the consumers. To combat the feathered invaders, many farmers took to illegally shooting the birds in the hopes of deterring the feeding frenzy.
The farmers were mostly unsuccessful in their efforts, as hungry pelicans ended up staying longer in Israel looking for food, feeding at night, and ultimately eating commercially bred fish for a longer period of time.
In 2008, government-sponsored feeding stations were set up for the pelicans for the first time in the vicinity of the Hula Valley Nature Reserve. With collaboration between the Jewish National Fund, the Agriculture Ministry, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the fish breeders themselves, shooting incidents were reduced to almost nil, the birds' rest stop in Israel was shorter and more effective, and visitors to the Hula Valley park were privileged to watch flocks of pelicans feeding.
The agreement signed this year between the Fish Breeders Association and the government agencies formalizes the arrangement for a second year. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority are each investing 300,000 shekels in the project. The Fish Breeders Association is to contribute about 15 tons of fish for the pelican feeding stations. In addition, like last year, the designated feeding areas will be limited to the Hula Valley.
According to Yossi Yaish, secretary-general of the Fish Breeders Association, the current agreement protects nature while making it possible for breeders to continue farming profitably. Thanks to this agreement, Yaish said, "there will not be a rise in prices nor a shortage of fish during the coming holiday period."