The impact cormorants have had on our coarse fish populations on both privately owned and public access river and stillwater systems has been known to anglers for decades, but it seems the powers that be are finally accepting the problem is greater than they first were willing to accept. Since the 1970's, Great Cormorant populations have exploded from an estimated 50,000 birds to an unsustainable number of over 2m birds as of today.
This exponential growth in numbers has contributed to the reduction of habitat and increased competition for resources, pushing the birds around coastal and inland waterways search of food, leading to the detrimental effects on fish populations across the UK and Europe.
Great Cormorants are now estimated to be responsible for costs to aquaculture and fisheries across Europe of more than €350m per year in 2023 and 2024. Despite many local initiatives to control bird numbers, they continue to rise and are now estimated to consume over 274,000 tons of fish each year costing recreational fishing clubs losses of stocked fish in the order of €100m per year.
Why the sudden change in policy?
Whether we like it or not, simply shouting loud enough is generally poorly received by lawmakers who prefer scientific data to support any sort of claims, especially when it comes to animal population control as it can be negatively perceived by the general public. While we as anglers have become somewhat accustomed to the damage and felt unheard, simply raising the alarm hasn't been enough, when other groups that have much better backing have refuted the claims with their own arguments that cormorants aren't doing the damage we know they do.
Being aware of this, The Angling Trust and others have been quietly compiling their own data, led by scientists and biologists to create over 15 years' worth of findings which correlate that cormorant numbers are having a significant impact on the fish populations here in the UK. Coinciding with similar findings in European countries, the evidence is clear to see that the predation issue anglers have called out for years, is in fact a reality.
Despite approximately £3m of rod licence money being used to protect fisheries from predation over the last ten years, the Trust are fully aware they can’t deal with the cause directly or on their own, which is why this potential change could be incredibly important to the future of angling.
Speaking to the head of the Angling Trust, Jamie Cook he explained why issues like this take time to reslove:
"In 2020, the UK government rejected our proposal to add cormorants to the general licence, preventing fisheries from taking the effective action needed to protect their fish stocks. Since then, and through our chairmanship of the European Anglers Alliance, we have worked relentlessly to elevate this issue to a European level, recognising that the majority of cormorant predation in UK waters is caused by migratory birds from the Baltic and wider European continent."
"It has taken thousands of unseen hours of work and engagement with experts—including commissioning the pivotal work of Professor Ian Cowx, to lead the charge both domestically and in Europe, pushing this onto the agenda of key policy makers_._"
Not only do cormorants affect fish populations directly, but they can drastically reduce biodiversity in the surrounding area too. In Sweden a long standing ban on lethal cormorant control was uplifted when members of the public who live there began to notice a decline in their favourite songbirds, invertebrates and fish species, as well as damage to the surrounding woodland where the birds settled.
Previously the largest breeding population of cormorants was in Denmark, but numbers moved to Sweden, presumably due to climate change. They outcompeted local birds, reduced fish populations, and even affected the soil's pH in the region, all of which had a net negative effect on biodiversity. As anglers we generally have the foresight for problems arising in the aquatic environment, but often, it isn't until people begin to realise and the economy of the area begins to be interrupted that change occurs, as was the case here.
How big is the problem in the UK?
Trevor Harrop B.E.M. Co-founder of The Avon Roach Project, told us:
"Since the own-goal of having cormorants included for protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and their protection under the European Union Birds Directive, overwintering cormorant numbers here in the UK have grown from 2000 to more than 64,000, with their protection being favoured over even our designated fish species."
"Cormorants have been allowed to plunder, unchallenged, not only our inland rivers and lakes, but also some of the most valuable riverine ecosystems on planet Earth, our chalk streams, of which 85% exist here in England. Now, perhaps, there is some hope with this very welcome European initiative, which will also bolster our ongoing efforts here in the UK."
"Afterall, it is the unchallenged exponential, population growth and range increase of the sub-species of Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis, overwintering here in the UK that is our main problem. So, I unreservedly support and endorse these proposals,” he concluded.
What are the plans?
The draft plan, which was facilitated by United Nations Fisheries and Aquaculture Organisation and European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC) through the Angling Trust and the European Anglers Alliance (EAA), was co-authored by Professor Ian Cowx from the University of Hull for EIFAAC.
The Cormorant Management Plan is due to be presented to the European Commission and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) in October 2025 for adoption. If successful it will then be rolled out to European governments for adoption later in the year. It recommends control to reduce cormorant numbers to sustainable levels to protect fish and biodiversity.
The overall objective of the plan is to oversee a significant decrease in cormorant related conflicts, adopting a framework to facilitate use of derogations to authorise the controlled culling of cormorants whilst maintaining their favourable conservation status.
The key recommendations vary from lighter management strategies like having an ‘adaptive management plan’ informed by a rigorous an ‘evaluate – adjust – adapt’ process, to more dramatic control, such as assigning ‘no cormorant zones for fish’ in high conflict areas, showing how serious the matter is being considered.
The plan also identifies that the root cause, where cormorants breed in areas like the Baltic Sea, is a significant place to combat the issue. Due to the high spread and mobility of these birds as they disperse right across Europe following migration routes, tackling the problem at the source may be the most effective way of reducing impacts further afield.
The need for change
The draft plan was recently endorsed at special conference in Brussels organised by the Polish Government who currently hold the presidency of the European Commission. It was attended by over 230 delegates from 35 countries who represented a wide spectrum of interests, including fisheries and environment policy and decision-makers, managers, representatives of bird, fish, and environmental conservation organisations, recreational fisheries and aquaculture organisations and many fish scientists, fishers and fish farmers.
The Brussels conference was told that: “Implementation of the plan, if approved, will ensure that the success of one species does not come at the cost of ecosystem balance, endangered fish species, the livelihoods of fishers and farmers, or Europe’s food security. The plan contributes to the implementation of the European Union Water Framework and Habitats Directives, the European Union Farm to Fork Strategy, European Union Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the European Union Nature Restoration Regulation.”
Professor Ian Cowx from the University of Hull for the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC), Co-Author of the draft framework, comments,
“With the ever-increasing abundance and expanding distribution of the great cormorant across Europe, these birds have come into direct conflict with both inland and coastal fisheries, as well as aquaculture operations. In response to this growing issue, there is a clear and pressing need to manage cormorant populations to safeguard fish biodiversity, support sustainable fisheries, and protect aquaculture enterprises.
Despite decades of requests from the European Parliament and fisheries and aquaculture authorities for a coordinated European management plan, progress has been limited. To address this gap, we have taken the initiative to draft a framework for an adaptive management plan under the auspices of the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission with the contract being awarded to the Angling Trust. This plan is intentionally pan-European in scope, acknowledging that local and national efforts alone have proven insufficient.
Its implementation will engage all key stakeholders, aiming to strike a fair and sustainable balance between the conservation of the great cormorant at the European level and the protection and sustainable use of fish populations, fisheries, and aquaculture interests.”
What is available to me now?
As with all law changes, especially those that encompass multiple countries, they can take time and currently government policy allows the shooting of up to 3000 cormorants per year in England. To apply for a licence there must be a significant number of cormorants present and a fishery to protect, and you need to have tried non-lethal forms of prevention beforehand.
However, help is available for fisheries in immediate need, with the Angling Trust, funded by rod licence fees from the Environment Agency, offering a range of resources to those who require them. Expert fishery managers can be called out to help discuss various pro-active measures that are proven to work to help reduce the impact these birds have, and should the problem be too combative, they can assist in applying for a licence to control them lethally.
"We reinvest everything at The Angling Trust to try and make a real difference to what matters to our members and the fishing in the UK. Predation has been a major concern for our members and we recognise the need for change, fighting constantly on behalf of our anglers," Jamie told us.
"The latest proposals represent another hard-won step forward. They are balanced, sensible, and long overdue—and we will fully support them as we continue to overcome the latest hurdle in the long campaign to address this growing threat to our fisheries."
"While we appreciate this will take time to come to fruition, we have the necessary tools to try and minimise the threat we currently face, in fact the legal number of cormorants that can be shot hasn't reached close to the legal limit in the last few years, so we can do more legally right now! For those that need our help, we are always available," he explained.