Widespread hunting in the 1950s, particularly in the Hula Valley, brought the great cormorant population in Israel to the brink of extinction. However, the annual census conducted in January 2025 reported 23,468 overwintering cormorants – marking the highest number recorded in two decades. For comparison, 19,080 cormorants were counted last year, and only 14,937 two years ago.
Cormorants in Israel
(Video: Nature and Parks Authority)
The cormorants were surveyed at 16 locations across Israel, with most sites showing an increase in numbers compared to previous years, except for the Hula Valley and the Sea of Galilee. Surveyed areas included the Dan Fishponds, Hula Nature Reserve, Betiha, Yarmouk, Naharayim, Jordan River Valley, Rosh Hanikra Islands, Ein Afek Nature Reserve, Kishon Stream, Hadera Stream, Alexander River, Zohar Reservoir, Yarkon River, Sorek Stream, Talmei Yosef Reservoir, and the Eilat and Arava regions in southern Israel.
The annual census is conducted every January, following the autumn migration and before the onset of spring migration. The process involves counting cormorants as they gather at roosting sites in the afternoon or depart from these sites in the morning.
This census is crucial for monitoring changes in the distribution and presence of cormorants at natural feeding sites, such as the Mediterranean coast and the Sea of Galilee, and is an integral part of a long-term population monitoring program designed to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation and management efforts.
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"We believe the population increase is linked to improved breeding success in nesting colonies along the Danube Delta and the Black Sea coasts," explained Dr. Yifat Artzi, an ecologist at the Hula Nature Reserve with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. "The great cormorant winters in Israel for about five months and nests during the summer in Ukraine."
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the species’ status on both a national and global scale, the census is conducted annually at the same time as similar counts across Europe. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the great cormorant is classified as a species of Least Concern (LC) both globally and regionally. While the great cormorant does not breed in Israel, it was historically a common winter visitor, particularly in the Hula Lake, the Sea of Galilee, river mouths along the Mediterranean coast, and fishponds.
Hunting practices of the 1950s caused a dramatic population decline, and between 1965 and 1975, only a few dozen overwintering cormorants were recorded annually. In the years that followed, the population began to recover. By the mid-1980s, numbers increased significantly, corresponding with population growth in Europe, particularly in countries from which cormorants migrate to Israel for winter. The overwintering population peaked in 2004, with nearly 29,000 individuals recorded.
The great cormorant’s diet consists primarily of fish, which has historically led to conflicts between conservationists and fish farmers. In response, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority has permitted limited measures to mitigate damage caused by cormorants in fishponds, primarily through controlled shooting to deter them and drive them away from roosting sites near fish farming areas. Since implementing these measures, the number of overwintering cormorants in Israel has declined and subsequently stabilized over the past decade, as evidenced by recent census results.