On 11 May 2022, the Committee on Fisheries of the European Parliament will hold a public hearing on “The cormorant problematic affecting EU fisheries and aquaculture” (16:15-18:30). The hearing is divided into two parts, first to take stock of the current situation and then to assess the practical solutions for the future.
Amongst the European institutions, the European Parliament and in particular the Fisheries Committee (PECH), is the institution which kept close attention to the cormorant problematic. It recently decided to put the issue at the top of its agenda, notably by organising this hearing to tackle the rampant and growing problem of cormorants, which also affect recreational anglers.
Representatives from the fisheries and aquaculture sectors as well as academics and NGOs will participate in the panel discussion. During the first part of the hearing titled “
The impact of cormorant predation on the fisheries and aquaculture sector,”
Dr. Niels Jepsen (Technical University of Denmark),
Anna Pyc (Polish Trout Breeders Association),
Oliver Martini (Italian Aquaculture Association) and
Stefan Jäger (German Fisheries Association) will discuss the current trends and situation from academic and empirical perspectives.
During the second part titled “
Does the legal framework still allow coexistence of cormorants and aquaculture?”,
Anouk Puymartin (BirdLife International) will present the NGO perspective, while
Bela Halaci Kovaks (Hungarian Aquaculture & Fisheries Interbranch Association) will discuss the limits of the derogations foreseen under the Birds Directive.
Both Dr. Niels Jepsen and Mr. Stefan Jäger are experts that EAA suggested to the PECH Members for this hearing.
More information can be found
here. The hearing will be web-streamed. You will be able to watch the hearing on the PECH Committee website
here.
(c) Picture by Lars Mejlby