Wildlife

Cormorant Aquaculture Conflict and Welfare

Conflicts between cormorants and aquaculture operators require humane resolution that protects both fish stocks and bird welfare.

Key Facts

Great cormorants cause significant losses at fish farms and stocked fishing lakes
Legal control licences allow shooting of cormorants causing serious damage to fisheries in the UK
Non-lethal deterrents including scarecrows, distress calls and netting are often more cost-effective
Cormorant populations have recovered strongly since the 1960s following protection
European management plans aim to balance cormorant conservation with fishery protection

Welfare Considerations

Shooting cormorants causes pain and death for individual birds and can leave non-fatally injured birds in prolonged suffering. Non-lethal deterrent methods that prevent fish farm access are more welfare-positive and often equally effective at reducing fish losses. Prioritising non-lethal solutions before resorting to lethal control is both ethically preferable and practically effective.

What You Can Do

Support fish farms and fisheries in implementing non-lethal cormorant deterrent systems
Advocate for cormorant management plans that require non-lethal methods before lethal control
Learn about cormorant ecology from the British Trust for Ornithology WeBS survey
Report illegal cormorant shooting to the RSPCA or police wildlife crime unit