Waterfowl intrudes into German parliament building, Bundestag.

Waterfowl intrudes into German parliament building, Bundestag.

Protected species or not, Cormorants are causing trouble for fishermen in Lake Constance and the Baltic Sea. These birds are now catching more fish than the fishermen themselves, a problem that's now on the agenda of the German Parliament (Bundestag). On Wednesday, there will be a public hearing in the Bundestag Committee for the Environment, with Alexander Brinker, the Chief of the Fisheries Research Station, scheduled to speak. The CDU/CSU-Fraction has initiated a call for a management plan to control the Cormorant population.

The issue has been raised by Volker Mayer-Lay, a CDU member of the Bundestag from Überlingen on Lake Constance. He stated, "The Cormorant is no longer an endangered species in this country." With increased numbers in recent years, the bird has become a nuisance nationwide. Fishermen at Lake Constance have reported catch losses, and farmers and gastronomes from the region have joined the complaint.

Experts estimate that Cormorants consume up to half a kilogram of fish daily. Proposals for a Cormorant management plan have been discussed for a while, particularly around Lake Constance. However, it remains unclear how to keep the Cormorant population in check after a year-long dialogue process involving over 70 individual talks, four full-day forums, and more than 80 consensus formulations.

This isn't just a problem in Southern Germany. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Federal Democratic Party attempted this issue earlier this year, and the German Inland Fisheries Association has advocated for a bounty on Cormorants. The President of the German Fishing Association, Gero Hocker, reported that more fish are being eaten by Cormorants in the Baltic Sea than caught by professional fishermen.

Conservationists oppose shooting or other harassment methods, as they believe it would harm the birds rather than help the fishermen. Eberhard Klein from NABU in Konstanz stated, "As we can see from the complaints of the fishermen: It doesn't help." Instead, ideas like egg management, where drones could oil the eggs of nesting birds to prevent hatching, or exchanging real eggs with gypsum eggs, are being proposed. Pilot tests are expected according to the Environment Ministry. Ultimately, it's about finding a balance, said Bundestagsabgeordnete Mayer-Lay. The continuous protection status of the Cormorant may be outdated given the current breeding populations in Germany, which exceed 20,000 breeding pairs.

Read also:

1. The issue of Cormorants impacting fish populations in International waters, such as Lake Constance and the Baltic Sea, has led to concerns about animal welfare and species protection.
2. The German Parliament (Bundestag) is considering a management plan to control Cormorant populations in Lake Constance, as they are causing significant fish catch losses for local fishermen.
3. The proposal for a Cormorant management plan is not limited to Lake Constance; it has been a topic of discussion in other regions like Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the Baltic Sea is situated.
4. Conservationists argue against methods like shooting Cormorants, suggesting alternative solutions like egg management to protect both the birds and the fish population.

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