(Phalacrocorax auritus)

Conservation Status:

Cormorant populations greatly decreased in the 19th and early 20th centuries from human persecution. They recovered after the 1920s, with an interruption in the recovery during the pesticide era of the 1950s and 1960s. The National Audubon Society considered it a species of special concern in 1972. Increases after the 1970s were explosive in some areas. Increasing cormorant populations have caused conflicts with people. Cormorants have been suggested as playing an important role in the collapse of some fisheries, although data to support these claims are sparse. Cormorants eat fish at fish farms, and recent legislation has been proposed to control cormorant numbers. For more information, click here.