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Fisheries Science of Ukraine, 2026; 3(77): 44-68
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61976/fsu2026.03.044
UDC 598.2:[591.53:597]:639.3/.6(4+477)

Received: 24.07.2026
Received in revised form: 07.09.2026
Published: 30.09.2026

The impact of piscivorous birds (great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo Linnaeus, 1758)) on European and Ukrainian aquaculture

A. Siver, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID ID 0009-0000-0066-0402, State Institution “Methodological and Technological Centre for Aquaculture”, Kyiv
M. Fedorenko, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID ID 0009-0007-7236-9375, State Institution “Methodological and Technological Centre for Aquaculture”, Kyiv
O. Poplavska, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , ORCID ID 0000-0002-6920-1842, State Institution “Methodological and Technological Centre for Aquaculture”, Kyiv

Purpose. The aim of the work was to analyze the scale of economic and environmental damage caused by piscivorous birds, primarily the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo Linnaeus, 1758), to aquaculture, fisheries and aquatic ecosystems in the European Union and Ukraine, and to summarize approaches to population management, loss compensation and preventive measures to protect fish farms.

Methodology. The work used comparative, analytical and statistical analysis. Materials from international organizations, EU reports on derogations (Article 9 of Directive 2009/147/EC). A comparative analysis of the experience of Romania, France, Croatia and Ukraine was conducted. In Ukraine, empirical data cover an area of over 1.16 thousand hectares of ponds and 300 m3 of cage capacities in 7 regions of the country. According to the monitoring survey of the State Institution “ICC for Aquaculture”, Ukrainian farms lose 5–50% of the marketable biomass of fish, injury reaches 30–50%, losses are up to 7.8 million UAH (200 thousand euros) per enterprise, and traditional scaring methods have low efficiency.

Findings. Increasing great cormorants abundance following EU legal protection elevated aquaculture losses, exceeding EUR 350 million, annually in the EU. The experience of EU countries demonstrates the effectiveness of integrated approaches: state support, compensation mechanisms, the use of derogations from the provisions of environmental legislation and regulated control. In Ukraine, such instruments have not yet been developed, which increases the economic vulnerability of fish farms. The level of losses directly depends on the amount of funding for preventive measures and the regional concentration of cormorant populations.

Originality. A comparative analysis of great cormorant impacts in the EU and Ukraine across environmental, economic and legal aspect was conducted. European management and compensation practices were systematized for Ukrainian conditions, substantiating the need to transition from local responses to systemic risk management.

Practical Value. The findings can improve state policies in Ukrainian aquaculture and fisheries, particularly regarding compensation mechanisms, environmental derogations, integrated bird population management and loss minimization.

Keywords: fish economy, fisheries, piscivorous birds, fish stocks, economic losses, derogations, compensation mechanisms, aquatic ecosystems.

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