Fisheries in the West Midlands are supporting a Government policy of culling cormorants this winter, claiming the problem cannot be controlled by any other measures.

The Government is issuing licences to kill up to 3,000 of the birds in a bid to keep them away from inland fishing lakes and rivers.

The policy, which was introduced last season, has caused outrage among bird groups, including the RSPB.

Despite the controversial policy, angling organisations in the region are supporting the move, saying it is the only effective option.

In Birmingham, the problem is especially evident at Edgbaston Reservoir.

"The cormorants are not only depriving anglers, they're also depriving indigenous local birds from in and around the city", said John Williams, secretary of Birmingham Anglers' Association.

"We've tried everything in the past, from using scarecrows, firing rockets and using artificial netting", he added.

"You can't frighten them away, the only way to control them is by killing them."

About 330 licenses were granted and 2,000 cormorants were licensed to be shot between September 2004 and August this year, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Of these, 45 licences were granted in the West Midlands, with a maximum of 339 birds permitted to be killed.

Andre Farrer, from the RSPB, said: "It's likely more fish farms will be ready for this one so the pressure will continue to rise to get towards the 3,000 mark."

The RSPB, which accepts that limited numbers of the birds need to be culled under strict criteria, believes that Defra's policy could contravene European law on the protection of the UK's cormorant population.

It has called the science behind the campaign " fundamentally flawed" and said it could seriously underestimate the impact of the cull on breeding cormorants across the country.

Despite these claims, experts in the region doubt the number shot will actually reach such high amounts.

West Midlands fisheries have reported increasing numbers of cormorants eating their fish over the last decade.

"Inland fisheries that have been set up like ourselves have experienced major problems", said Fred Hopkins, senior ranger at Kingsbury Water Park.

" It's a very difficult situation.

"They are so efficient at trapping the fish and as soon as they know which waters they are stocked in, they go back in flocks."

"We have tried artificial netting in the past but it is not at all effective."

Mr. Hopkins believes cormorants are coming inland as pollution and a lack of fish deter them from their natural places on the coast.