Juodkrantė resumes cormorant control with pyrotechnics to limit colony growth

Authorities in Juodkrantė have resumed using pyrotechnics to disrupt cormorant breeding, aiming to curb the colony’s expansion after a one-year pause, LRT reports.

Firecrackers are being deployed to startle nesting birds, causing them to abandon their eggs overnight. The measure follows a decision by the Ministry of Environment to resume population control due to concerns over the birds’ impact on local fisheries, fish stocks in the Curonian Lagoon, and forest degradation.

Ornithologist Saulius Rumbutis noted that while the colony currently hosts around 3,000 breeding pairs—down from over 4,000 at its peak—its size could triple without intervention. Previous control efforts led some cormorants to relocate to Plazė Lake and the Nemunas Delta, where populations now exceed those in Juodkrantė.

The birds’ acidic droppings damage trees, accelerating forest decline. Despite this, abandoned cormorant habitats have become thriving ecosystems, hosting insects, rare lichens, fungi, and even foxes. The colony remains a major tourist attraction, with visitors like German tourist and hunter’s relative acknowledging both its ecological impact and visual spectacle.

Lithuania prohibits culling or nest destruction, deeming egg-chilling the most humane control method. Other countries, such as Denmark, use oil to smother embryos, while cormorants are legally hunted near fish farms.