Today, ten years later, only some of the Parliament’s requests have been met such as the publication of a “..more generalised guidance on the nature of the derogations allowed under Article 9(1) of the Wild Birds Directive...” However, more could and should be done. The cormorant population is still on the increase, in particular in the Nordic region. Europe counts more than 2 million cormorants which eat more than 1 million kilo of fish every day. The birds appetite for fish is a cause of great problems in particular to fish populations in freshwater habitats and a threat to vulnerable fish species. 

During the conference, the speakers will give more facts and details about the current situation and present some possible solutions. Today cormorant is managed locally. But scaring away this highly migratory species from one place creates problems in other places making clear that local management is not enough. 

A key message to be delivered at this event is that cross-border cooperation is a necessity to manage properly and cost efficiently the population – as the European Parliament already requested ten years ago.