# Cormorant2026 Programme

3 February 2026: Arrival and Welcome Ice-breaking session

4 February 2026: Talks and poster session

5 February 2026: Mid-conference excursion

6 February 2026: Talks and closing of the conference

The detailed conference programme will be available from 15th December 2025

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Day 1 (4 February 2026): The Breeding Season

Main topics for oral presentations

Trends in breeding populations: The two subspecies of Great Cormorant / Shags / Pygmy Cormorant.
The Pan-European count of breeding colonies in 2027
Demography: Breeding performance and Survival, as well as important factors affecting these
Methods: Drones as a tool to monitor colony size and breeding performance
Colony dynamics: What can patterns in colony development tell us about important influencing factors
Management actions in breeding colonies: Recent developments
Where to forage: New knowledge from the use of GPS loggers
What fish to eat: How do Cormorants adapt to dynamic fish populations and can Cormorants be used as a monitoring tool?

Panel discussions

Day 3 (6 February 2026): Outside the Breeding Season

Main topics for oral presentations

Trends in numbers in staging and wintering areas
Can we organise a Pan-European winter count for January 2027?
Distribution: How do Cormorants adapt to changing environments
Where to forage and roost: The importance of shooting and access to safe sites
Shooting as a tool to control numbers: When and where is shooting used as a tool / What are the effects at the local, regional, and European scale
Other topics related to the ecology and behaviour of Cormorants

Panel discussions

Lessons learned from shooting
How an understanding of the ecology and behaviour of Cormorants can inform managers and decision makers

Special session: Other Cormorant species

We will discuss strategic planning concerning international ambitions and work plans for other cormorant species.