Too many cormorants in EU. Commission ready to authorize hunting

Brussels – Not just wolves. Europe now also has problems with cormorants, a type of aquatic bird that has been breeding too much, impacting the inland, freshwater fisheries in particular, and to which the EU plans to respond by allowing hunting as an exception to EU rules. Strange and yet true, to the point that the issue was officially raised with the European Commission.

German MEP from the EPP, David McCallister, denounced the reduction of about 20 percent in river and lake fish production in the last decade due to the overpopulation of cormorants. As a result, “Land catches have declined in many areas,” denounces the MEP, so “even predators such as cormorants are to blame” for the situation.

The cormorant is a widespread species in Europe. Known as the ‘sea crow,’ it is an 80-100 centimeter-long predator that feeds on fish. The cormorant’s respiratory system allows it to remain underwater, whether fresh or salt, for up to one minute for dives of up to nine meters. However, these characteristics are now creating a conflict with human activities. There is little the EU can do, and what little it can do is pave the way for hunters.

Moreover, Maros Sefcovic, the Commissioner for the Green Deal, explains that there are few options to face the phenomenon. There is no specific legislation on cormorants, which are protected and safeguarded under the “bird directive” in the latest version updated in 2009. The only thing to do is “the possibility of using derogations under Article 9 of the directive”, Sefcovic specifies. The explanation, translated from legal terms, means hunting in derogation of obligations to conserve bird life, including migratory birds, for proven reasons of public health and safety interests, reasons of aviation safety, prevention of serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and waters, and for the protection of flora and fauna.

The European season to hunt cormorants is (almost) open, even though its meat is not considered edible unless subjected to a long aging process, which has now fallen out of use. Ultimately, Sefcovic acknowledges, “The Commission is aware that a recent expansion of the cormorant population may make it difficult to balance the conflicts between human and cormorant interests.” The EU executive is aware of the backlash on local economies and the environment and cannot let it slide. 

After the easing of wolf protection measures, now there will be changes for cormorants, a species currently in a good conservation state and at low risk of extinction. Hunters throughout the European Union are warned: “Guidelines on the application of such derogations” to cormorant hunting are being drafted, assures Sefcovic.